A broken leg clearly wasn’t enough to stop arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history.
Anderson Silva, 13 months removed from the horrific injury he suffered against Chris Weidman, cruised to a 49-46, 50-45, 50-45 unanimous-decision victory over Nick Diaz during UFC 183‘s main event Saturday night.
Here’s a look at all the results from the night:
Understandably, some of the biggest question marks before the fight surrounded Silva’s mental game. Long an impressive physical specimen, it was assumed he would have no trouble getting back to peak physical shape. But would he still have the same aggressive, confident mentality? What about those leg kicks, which resulted in the original injury?
Well, it’s safe to say those questions have been answered emphatically.
Although Diaz’s style—and the length of the match—certainly helped, Spider landed 108 significant strikes, per FightMetric.com. According to USA Today‘s Mike Bohn, that was a record-setting number for him:
He also landed at least one left leg kick in each round, essentially quelling any potential thoughts that he may be hesitant to do so.
UFC President Dana White, however, came away feeling slightly underwhelmed, via ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto:
I thought there would be a lot more punches. Nick Diaz alone is a guy who usually stalks you, taunts you and throws a ton of punches. Anderson Silva usually throws punches, kicks, knees. Anderson came back from this injury, and I said going into this fight I thought it would be very mentally tough for him to go and perform. I think—if he was just trying to get five rounds in, I don’t know. I wasn’t in that fight but I expected a lot more offense.
Still, White said in early January that a win would set Silva up for a title shot against the winner between Weidman and Vitor Belfort, and there was nothing to suggest that shouldn’t still be the case. Was it Silva’s best performance ever? Absolutely not, but he showed enough both physically and mentally to prove he’s ready for another chance at the belt.
That is, of course, if he wants it.
“I need to talk to my family,” Silva said, via the Los Angeles Times‘ Lance Pugmire. “I love my job, this is me, I love fighting, but this is important to me now. I’m not saying I’ll stop. I need to talk to my family.”
No would blame the veteran if he retired. He has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in this sport, and this impressive win allows him to retire on his own terms rather than quitting because of the injury or hanging up his gloves after a loss.
But if Silva wants to keep going, he should get a shot at the best. He proved Saturday night that even at 40—which he’ll be in April—he remains among the sport’s elite.
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