Issue 125

February 2015

Fighters Only editor Nick Peet isn’t convinced by the UFC 183 main event between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz.

Like most MMA fans, I’ve been counting down to UFC 183 for the past few weeks – and not just because it happens to be taking place on my birthday. No it’s because matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby have outdone themselves with one of the best Zuffa cards in some time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

There are perhaps only one or two fights scheduled for the January 31st card that don’t jump right off the page. And, despite what most fans are saying, for me, one of those happens to be the main event. 

Let’s get it right; Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz is a circus freakshow fight. A matchup Pride would have been proud of.

Don’t get me wrong, I get the fight. I understand why it’s been made: dollar bills through pay-per-view buys. Polarising figures, Silva and Diaz remain two of the hardcore MMA fans’ most beloved fighters and so by pitching them together, despite both engaging on the back of truly troubled times in their respective careers, the UFC has likely struck gold.

Can ‘The Spider’, the man widely dubbed as MMA’s ‘Greatest of All Time’, rediscover the magic that made him practically invincible during his record-breaking middleweight championship reign? Or will the 209’s perennial bad boy rise to the occasion and walk through Anderson’s recently exposed aging body to rekindle his own title aspirations?

I get it, but I’m just not buying it (actually I will be, but you get what I mean). I’m sorry, but I just can’t get excited about this fight. Some corners of the MMA media are even calling this a super-fight. But that’s like calling Lebron the future of basketball. Let’s face facts, that ship has long sailed. Let’s call this fight for what it truly is: a legends match.

Mixed martial arts has moved on. This generation of champions across the board has passed both Silva and Diaz by. A super-fight can really only be between two champions anyway. But both these guys, potential future Hall of Famers no doubt, are as far away from championship class as they’ve ever been.

Anderson was exposed in the most brutal fashion by Chris Weidman, twice. While Diaz has only won one fight since his return to the Octagon – against a blown up BJ Penn way back in 2011. Combined, neither have won a fight in more than five years. A super-fight that does not make.

Silva vs. Diaz reminds me of boxing’s ill-fated Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao super-fight. Five years ago maybe, but in 2015, it’s anything but. And at least in the ring if it were to happen Mayweather and Pacquiao are already competing in the same weight division. Diaz has to come up from welterweight to fight Silva at 185lb. This is a guy who failed to win a single round against Georges St Pierre in his last outing at 170lb.

That’s the same GSP who, during his pomp, famously turned down the chance to step up and face Anderson himself in a true super-fight. A decision that was roundly supported by many fans who accepted Georges, as great as he was, would be too small for the Brazilian. Yet now we’re happy to send Diaz into the fray.

Much more entertaining on this fight card is Kelvin Gastelum’s step up against Tyron Woodley, Joe Lauzon and Al Iaquinta’s lightweight dust-up, Jordan Mein vs. Thiago Alves, Ian McCall vs. John Lineker and Thales Leites gambling his incredible recent run of results up against middleweight gatekeeper Tim Boetsch. Those are fights with implications.

If Anderson beats Diaz to a pulp are we supposed to proclaim: “He’s back!” And what happens if Diaz slaps on a submission or grinds down ‘The Spider’ against the odds, what then for the sport’s GOAT just one fight into his new 10-fight UFC contract? BJ Penn?

Anderson Silva is credited as being the greatest champion the sport has ever seen, with the records to back it up. While Nick Diaz will forever be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest characters. His flagrant disregard for promoters and foes has made him a global star. 

But when they come together in Las Vegas at the end of the month let’s welcome them for what this fight really is, the beginning of the final leg in their storied MMA careers. Legends... It’s time!