Issue 124

January 2015

Who will emerge victorious when two of MMA’s most popular and contrasting personalities collide inside the Octagon.

My girlfriend isn’t exactly an MMA fan. If it’s on the TV, she might take a disinterested sort of look but that’s about it. So I was a little bemused as, on the evening of December 29th 2013 I finally sat down to watch the previous night’s UFC 168 (I couldn’t watch it live but after a day of strictly no contact with the outside world I could pretend it was), she almost leapt from the sofa, and mumbled: “Oh no, I’m not watching this.” She knew something I didn’t. That could only mean something that happened was so extraordinary, it had hit mainstream media outlets. I expected something bad. Unfortunately I got it.

The sight of Anderson Silva’s leg grotesquely flopping around and of him, in an agonized heap on the ground, clutching at the injury was an unforgettable one. Aged 38, I thought he was surely finished after losing to Chris Weidman for the second time. This would be one hell of an ailment to come back from. However, after an incredible recovery, he’s set to return to action just 13 months later against another fascinating fighter who’s been out of action for even longer, but for very different reasons.

Nick Diaz, 26-9 (1 NC), was last seen inside the Octagon dropping a wide five-round decision to then UFC 170lb champion Georges St Pierre in March 2013. He has, like Silva, been sorely missed. Not just for the action they provide but the immense interest, and money, they generate. This fight will be a huge one.  

Diaz didn’t ‘deserve’ his title shot against GSP after coming off a split-decision loss to Carlos Condit in a fight for the interim welterweight championship. But, even considering his suspensions, retirements, post-fight brawls and lax approach to press duties, the Stockton bad boy has been a top class welterweight for a decade. And, like Silva, he’s one of a dwindling number of true MMA superstars.

Ah, yes, Anderson Silva. Ever since he realized he should use his incredible skills to win fights and entertain the crowd (instead of humiliating opponents and boring the paying audience to death) ‘The Spider’ has become genuinely beloved, not to mention much richer. Until running into Weidman, he’d won 16 straight UFC fights, all but two inside the distance. Simply put, Silva – with a record-breaking 33-6 pro record – is the greatest fighter in the history of MMA.

Both fighters have undeniably outstanding jiu-jitsu, though it would be fanciful to imagine we’ll get to see it. Diaz’s love of striking means his much-vaunted ground game is rarely seen. He’s scored submission wins over just three opponents in the last eight years. Silva’s own submission game (and his underrated, vicious ground n’ pound) make him just as dangerous on the mat as Diaz, but given their styles and attitudes, it’s hard to imagine this one not being decided by both men’s considerable striking skills.

Diaz has an arsenal of relentless, pinpoint punches, but Silva is faster with his fists – as well as his feet, knees and elbows. Worryingly for Diaz, when he faced a supposedly inferior striker in GSP, he was hit throughout the fight. The Canadian repeatedly tagged the 31-year-old, landing first, disrupting his timing, doing damage and racking up points on the judges’ cards.  

Diaz’s hands-down style of defense requires exceptional reflexes, and he’ll need those if he wants to avoid some lightning-fast Silva strikes. And size matters. Diaz is a welterweight whose last two ventures above the 170lb limit were catchweight affairs at 179lb and 180lb way back in 2009. Silva, who walks around at a whopping 220lb, is a much bigger human being and dominated in three UFC light heavyweight fights.

Coming off such a horrific injury, and given how ordinary he looked against Weidman in their second fight, there are plenty of questions surrounding Silva. But even if he’s a diminished talent, this is still Anderson Silva – a once-in-a-generation talent.

Diaz will make a lot of money from this fight and he’ll ignite proceedings with his own inimitable brand of hype, trash-talking, in-fight action and controversy. But by the end of the show, he’ll most likely be a battered, bloody, dejected mess, and we’ll be hailing the return of the king.