We’re nearing the home stretch.
Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz will be made official on Friday afternoon after both men successfully weigh in. This fight is a strange bird, one most fans could have never seen coming together.
Silva, considered by many to be the greatest of all time, was taken out by a younger, hungrier, more complete mixed martial artist in the form of Chris Weidman back at UFC 162 and then again in the rematch at UFC 168. The leg break in the second fight put Silva out of commission for more than a year.
Diaz, who’s been on a hiatus for more than a year, gets the honor of welcoming him back. He’s been seemingly uninterested in fighting for a while now. But the lure of a big payday against Silva was apparently enough to bring him back.
Diaz is a sizeable underdog, according to Odds Shark. And rightly so, given that he’s moving up in weight to face a bigger, stronger foe, who also happens to be one of the most lethal strikers the sport has ever seen. Diaz is no slouch in the striking department, considered by many to be one of the best boxers for MMA.
But the style of Diaz, aggressive and always moving forward, seems tailor-made for the pinpoint counter-striking of Silva, much like the way Forrest Griffin was for Silva back at UFC 101. Silva is no spring chicken, though, at nearly 40 years old. He’s also coming off the long layoff due to a severe injury.
In an MMA fight anything can happen, and stranger things have happened than the prospect of Diaz being able to punch Silva’s face off a bit. A fight seemingly pulled out of nowhere, Silva vs. Diaz may be one-sided, but it begs tuning in to find out.
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