On January 31, all heads in the MMA world will be directed towards the Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz bout.
UFC 183 will be airing on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this coming Saturday. The latest preview aired on TV focused on Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC), who happens to be an all-time great. He reigned the middleweight division for a long time, and was even named as the pound-for-pound king.
Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), on the other hand, was a former Strikeforce welterweight titleholder. While he is a good fighter, his most renowned trait, according to MMA Junkie, is that he is one of the biggest trash talkers in the sport.
Still, his rivals must not mistake his words for mere taunts. Even Joe Rogan, UFC commentator, knows that Diaz can back up what he says he can do. "Nick Diaz has the kind of trash talking that makes you rethink your life," Rogan said, according to MMA Junkie. "And, make no mistake about it, he backs up that act with elite skills. At his best, he's a smothering opponent."
In a in a teaser for "Spider Life Show" posted on Fight Line, Silva says he is feeling pain in his previously injured leg after a sparring session. The show has been following the Brazilian in his daily activities as he preps himself before returning to the Octagon.
However, as far as he is concerned, he is completely done talking about the now-infamous injury that his leg suffered more than a year ago. During his rematch against Chris Weidman, he gave his opponent a snapping low kick, only to have his left tibia and fibula break in a very gruesome manner. Silva, in clearly unbearable pain, clutched his leg in agony. The audience was clearly stunned with what happened to his leg.
Now, though, Silva is ready to get back into the cage and face off with Diaz. He may have already overcome the mental and physical hurdles brought about by his terrifying injury, but he still does not want to relive what happened, as reported by TSN. "This is the point in my life where I no longer talk about it because my leg's good now. It's not difficult to talk about, but this is the past," he said.
According to Sherdog, Silva is clearly ecstatic that the UFC gave him "one more chance" to show off his skills. He had to miss out on fighting for a year since he had to fully recuperate the leg bones that were broken. "Now, I'm very excited because it's my legacy. It's my dream," he said. "The new Anderson's back."
