The highly anticipated fight between former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former Strikeforce and EliteXC champion Nick Diaz has hit another speed bump, but its destination and estimated time of arrival remain unchanged.
According to Ivan Raupp of Combate (h/t Karim Zidan of Bloody Elbow), “The Spider” spent Monday night in a hospital after collapsing following a workout. Silva then described that he was feeling intense pain and was unable to feel his legs.
After several tests, Silva’s plight was diagnosed as simply lumbago (a type of back pain). Silva’s doctor (and medical director of Brazil’s MMA sanctioning body, CABMMA), Marcio Tannure, reassured fans, via Bloody Elbow.
“It hurts a lot, really, but it will not change anything in terms of training,” Tannure said. “The problem he had justified the pain, but it will not result in a withdrawal or cancellation of the fight.”
Obviously, fans are right to be at least moderately concerned in spite of Tannure‘s reassurance. Back troubles are a serious issue in MMA, and fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Shane Carwin have both had their careers irrevocably altered by serious back issues that weren’t accompanied by being unable to feel their legs.
With Silva set to fight on January 31 at UFC 183, however, he has quite a bit of time left to recover from whatever ailment he might have.
For his part, Diaz has been providing plenty of his own pre-fight drama. Diaz was arrested in September on suspicion of DUI, which called attention to another unpublicized December 2013 DUI incident.
While some speculated initially that it might put the fight at risk, UFC brass no-sold the idea that the fight was in jeopardy, and it is unlikely that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would interfere with what is a guaranteed payday out of any sense of duty to the safety and well-being of its citizens.
Either way, watch for Bleacher Report’s continued coverage of the buildup to UFC 183.
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