Tag: UFC 183

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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Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz are mere hours away from facing off in the Octagon at UFC 183, and fans are counting down the seconds until the main event.

Admittedly, this matchup would’ve been a lot more attractive a few years ago, but both fighters remain among the biggest names in UFC. The company didn’t need to do much in the way of promotion to build to this bout.

One of the minor subplots for this fight is Silva’s insistence that he won’t wear Reebok gear. UFC announced a partnership with the company in December, which means that all fighters will be mandated to don apparel exclusively from Reebok.

In an interview with Terra, Silva made no bones about his preference for Nike gear, via MMAjunkie’s Brent Brookhouse and Christian Stein.

“I’ve always worn Nike, even before I had a contract with them,” he said. “Just because our ties are severed, it doesn’t mean I’ll stop wearing it. It feels true; it’s a brand with which I identify. It’s no use to sport a brand to which I have no relationship.”

Former UFC star Tim Sylvia stood in solidarity with Silva:

Reebok went on the charm offensive to try to turn the Brazilian around:

A minor problem arose when Diaz decided to skip out on an open workout that was scheduled earlier in the week:

UFC president Dana White defused the situation with his well-timed tweet:

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer tried to connect all of the dots, figuring it was quite a coincidence that Diaz would go missing while the NFL is investigating the New England Patriots for potentially cheating in an NFL playoff game:

Diaz also provided some comedy when trying to explain how he was unable to get into contact with White to explain his condition, per Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting:

It was a relatively innocuous story, and forgoing the public workout likely helped Diaz‘s pre-fight preparation. Who’s to argue with that kind of calculation on Diaz‘s part? If it’ll make for a better fight in the end, nobody’s going to complain.

Of course, the biggest question on everybody’s mind is whether Silva has much left in the tank. Nobody expects to see the “Spider” of old Saturday night. He’s 39 years old, coming off two losses and a major leg injury. Anybody, no matter how great they once were, can beat Father Time.

Diaz isn’t without red flags either, but he’s more than capable of ending the fight if Silva gives him an opportunity.

Sherdog’s Patrick Wyman tweeted that the only guarantee for UFC 183 is that it’ll be entertaining:

Quite a few are hitching themselves to the Silva bandwagon.

Former pro wrestling announcer Jim Ross picked Silva in what he believes will be a classic slobber-knocker:

Josh Gross is also firmly behind Silva but feels that thinking about the fight too much can be a bit disheartening:

Silva also received backing from the UFC light heavyweight champion himself, Jon Jones:

From top to bottom, the card for UFC 183 doesn’t have a massive volume of great matchups. That shortcoming should be more than compensated for by Diaz vs. Silva.

Both stars are coming in off somewhat major layoffs and with something to prove. They may not be what they once were, but they should have more than enough left to give fans a great main event.

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Having failed to fell Chris Weidman in his last two fights, Anderson Silva will look to get back in the win column tonight against Nick Diaz. Diaz, meanwhile, is entering the Octagon after a nearly two-year absence.

UFC 183 should feature a great main event, which will include two stars who have major chips on their respective shoulders.

Neither Silva nor Diaz was shy about expressing his feelings about a variety of different issues in a public forum. They’ve both been pretty active in the days building up to the pay-per-view.

 

Fighter Comments

One of the biggest questions raised after the sponsorship deal between Reebok and UFC surrounded how certain fighters would respond. Plenty of top stars have established relationships with other companies, so the transition to Reebok gear was bound to be a bit rough early on.

Silva spoke about his reticence to make the switch in an interview with Terra, via MMAjunkie’s Brent Brookhouse and Christian Stein:

I don’t like that idea. When you wear a brand, it needs to be true; there must be a connection. I don’t identify with Reebok at all.

I’ve always worn Nike, even before I had a contract with them. Just because our ties are severed, it doesn’t mean I’ll stop wearing it. It feels true; it’s a brand with which I identify. It’s no use to sport a brand to which I have no relationship.

Although Silva is one of UFC’s biggest stars, he’ll likely have to fall in line once all fighters are instructed to don Reebok in the summer. If any fighter does try to make a stand, though, Silva would be one of the best-positioned to do so.

Going back to the fight itself, one of the major storylines for UFC 183 is how Silva will respond after his last fight ended in such gruesome circumstances.

UFC fans won’t soon forget the image of Silva breaking his leg, and the former champion admitted that while he’s feeling good now, he was initially a little scared to get right back into the swing of things, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times:

“My leg’s good and I’m very excited for the fight. When I go walk to the octagon, it feels like the first time, like my first fight in the UFC.”

Silva said after returning home to Brazil from a lengthy Las Vegas hospital stay that included some physical therapy, he was frightened to test the leg in training.

“How’s your leg?” a coach asked him in Brazil.

“I don’t know,” Silva answered. “I’m scared for training.”

Silva said he saw his friends doing jumping drills and decided to give it a try.

The coach watched Silva’s jumping and pushed him: “Finish, go train, your leg [has] nothing more” to recover from.

It’s impossible to recreate a fight-like atmosphere in a training session. You wouldn’t expect Silva to hold anything back, but he might be a little hesitant early on as he gets used to the Octagon once again.

On the other side, Diaz has always been viewed as more of a heel, to use pro wrestling terminology. He’s very good at eliciting a reaction from the crowd, be it positive or negative—generally negative.

In an interview with Mark Emmons for UFC.com, Diaz spoke about his willingness to play the foil for more popular, well-received fighters.

“I’d rather not be portrayed as an evil villain, but if people want to make me out to be that, and it sells tickets, that’s fine,” he said. “But I do hope people understand that this is just what sells, and not what’s really me. I’m just a mixed-martial artist from Stockton, California. And I’m still here.”

Diaz didn’t ingratiate himself with UFC fans earlier in the week when he skipped out on an open workout:

To make amends, he offered a broad apology to both UFC and the fans on Thursday, per Fox Sports’ Elias Cepeda:

I apologize to all the fans. I didn’t really put too much thought into it. I was just focused on the fight.

I apologize to the UFC … kind of everybody not knowing what was going on with me. It really wasn’t a big deal. I’m going to do what I have to do, and then come and fight.

In the end, if missing out on a public training session put Diaz in a better position to win, few can argue with the strategy. Plus, it allowed UFC President Dana White to have some fun with the situation:

 

Prediction

Before his leg injury, Silva would’ve likely coasted to victory against Diaz. This matchup presents a style nightmare for Diaz, and his opponent is one of the greatest fighters ever to step into the Octagon.

Silva should be able to dictate the pace of the fight and remain in the middle of the cage. As long as he can remain off the fence, he’ll consistently keep Diaz at bay.

However, as Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden wrote, the Brazilian star has some doubts hovering over his ability going into tonight’s fight:

The truth is, the Anderson Silva we all picture in our heads is the 2008 wrecking machine, the guy who made Chris Leben and Forrest Griffin look like clowns. That guy doesn‘t exist anymore.

Today, Anderson Silva is just a guy trying to piece his shattered career, and his shattered leg, back together. He’s 39. His kids are running around UFC Embedded videos looking like full-grown men for God’s sake.

The gulf between the two is by no means insurmountable from Diaz‘s perspective. If he can tag Silva early with a big blow, this will be a completely different fight.

In the end, Silva should earn a hard-fought victory after the full distance. He’ll be a much lesser version of himself than fans came to expect during his prime, but he’ll still be good enough to topple Diaz.

Final Prediction: Silva by unanimous decision

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