So, the UFC 183 main event was pretty weird, right? Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz conspired to produce a spectacle that was bizarrely compelling in every sense of the phrase.
In truth, even the buildup to the fight was a little peculiar. Unlike most mixed martial artists, Diaz doesn’t tend to offer his opponents much respect prior to a bout. There are no smiles, fist bumps, handshakes, etc. And brohugs are absolutely out of the question.
It was odd, then, to watch the 31-year-old offer Silva a handshake and a hug during media day. Finally, it seemed, he was up against an opponent who had earned his pre-fight respect. In light of this, I anticipated little in the way of mid-fight trash talk from Stockton’s favourite son.
I should have known better.
Referee “Big” John McCarthy had barely uttered his fight-starting catchphrase before Diaz began barking obscenities at the former UFC middleweight king. Not content with verbally blaspheming the consensus Greatest of All Time, Diaz dropped to the floor and struck a pose that said to Silva: “Draw me like one of your French girls.”
Outclowning The Spider is no mean feat, and it made the fight utterly absorbing despite both men being relatively inactive.
Diaz wasn’t pushing his usual life-altering pace, but he was having moments of real success, landing flush shots time and again. Perhaps owing to his time spent with Joe Schilling and Artem Levin, Diaz also utilized leg kicks consistently for the first time in his career.
For his part, Silva countered nicely and racked up the points during Diaz’s frequent periods of inactivity. The Brazilian at times looked tentative, but who could blame him for harbouring a few doubts? When the 25 minutes were up, there was no question that Silva had earned the decision—despite Diaz’s trademark confusion over how fights are actually scored.
But perhaps the most unusual part of an already-offbeat evening was the reaction to the fight. There seemed to be very little agreement on how to interpret the action inside of the cage. Some optimistic souls felt we had just witnessed the rebirth of the 39-year-old Silva, while others suggested that it might be time for him to hang up the gloves.
There was also some confusion over Diaz’s excessive clowning and his shockingly low output. However, the revelation that he had been dealing with an arm injury that may require surgery certainly goes some way toward explaining his tactics.
What should we make of UFC 183’s main event, then? It’s difficult to say. The calls for Silva’s retirement are probably premature. This would be a nice win for him to go out on, but the performance offered a few glimpses of genius that indicate he might still have something to offer the division.
Another crack at Chris Weidman would, as Ray Longo suggested, probably end badly for the Brazilian. His chin was able to hold up against the shots of the much smaller Diaz, but one should be skeptical of its ability to absorb the kind of power wielded by the likes of Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Weidman.
Still, if he does choose to continue fighting, it should be interesting to see how competitive Silva can be with the division’s elite, now that he looks vaguely human.
What Diaz chooses to do next is anyone’s guess. His post-fight remarks were encouraging, however. He seemed clear-headed and remarkably upbeat, given his usual demeanour after a loss.
When the decision was read, most of us probably anticipated Diaz retiring on the spot. But surprisingly, he left the door slightly ajar for another fight. This is progress of a sort and might be an indication that his outlook on the sport has matured.
We might not have seen the best of Silva and Diaz at UFC 183, but we saw enough to remind us that MMA is a far less interesting place without them. Let’s just hope they stick around, if only for a little while longer.
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