The UFC 183 pay-per-view is headlined by the marquee fight between the returning Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, and the excitement heading into Saturday’s event has the mixed martial arts world on edge.
Not only is Silva fighting Diaz in what could be an incredible battle, but there are also several marquee undercard matches on PPV and television that could steal the show if the main event doesn‘t live up to the expectations.
Here is the full UFC 183 card, viewing information, live stream, the predicted winners and a breakdown of the most underrated fight of the night.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
When: Saturday, January 31
Start Time: UFC Fight Pass prelims start at 7 p.m. ET; Fox Sports 1 preliminary card starts at 8 p.m. ET; main pay-per-view card starts at 10 p.m. ET
Watch: Pay-per-view
Live Stream: UFC.TV; Fox Sports Go (preliminary card)
Most Underrated Fight of the Night: Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann
There are several matches that could potentially steal the show, but the women’s bantamweight battle between Miesha Tate and Sara McMann in the main event of the preliminary card will be a war.
Both Tate and McMann lost in their championship attempts at Ronda Rousey, but the two women are squaring off, with the winner possibly getting a title shot in the future. If Rousey goes on to beat Cat Zingano at UFC 184, the winner of Saturday’s fight would have a case to be the new No. 1 contender.
When asked about the UFC 184 matchup between Rousey and Zingano, Tate told Damon Martin of Fox Sports how it will affect her and the winner of Saturday night’s preliminary card main event:
I have a lot of vested interest in that fight and I really have mixed feelings about who I would prefer to win. I think if Zingano beats Rousey, it’s a much faster road to the title for myself so there’s a benefit there for me. The fact that our first fight had a lot of fireworks to it — it was a very exciting fight. I won the first two rounds and I just feel it was stopped too quickly in the third round, but it is what it is. If Cat wins, there’s a big argument why I would get the next title shot. Especially on a three fight win streak if I beat Sara McMann, that puts a huge notch on my belt.
MMA Infographics provided even more insight into Tate and her recent success:
Since back-to-back losses to Zingano and Rousey in 2013, Tate has refocused her training and racked up two straight decision victories over Liz Carmouche and Rin Nakai, successfully climbing back into the title picture.
On the other hand, McMann has lost only one time in her career, and that was to Rousey. After failing to take the belt from the champion, McMann bounced back against Lauren Murphy and earned a hard-fought decision win.
While McMann has the edge in wrestling ability, Tate is one of the hardest hitting and most fearless women in the division. The ability to take Rousey to the third round did not go unnoticed, and there are many who believe she could beat the current champion with the right game plan.
On Saturday, Tate will run through McMann in convincing fashion and send a message to UFC President Dana White, Rousey and the entire women’s bantamweight division that “Cupcake” means business.
Predicted Winner: Tate def. McMann via unanimous decision.
*Stats via UFC.com.
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