MANILA, Philippines - Anderson Silva came back from a career-threatening injury and beat Nick Diaz via a unanimous decision yesterday in the main event of the UFC 183 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas to earn another crack at the crown.
Silva won in all judges’ scorecards, 50-45, 49-46 and 50-45, in a big comeback 13 months after the Brazilian star broke a leg in a slugfest with Chris Weidman in their UFC middleweight bout.
“This is a very important moment for me, a very important moment for my family and all Brazilians,” said the 39-year-old Silva, considered as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time.
After disposing of Diaz, Silva laid on his back in tears even before ring barker Bruce Buffer announced him the winner.
Never mind if Silva had lost the speed, power and explosiveness that had marked his stellar career highlighted by a mighty seven-year reign that included 14 straight victories. He also admitted to have had some reservations as he made his return to the octagon arena.
“I went through a lot of suffering the past year. In the beginning I didn’t know if I would be able to come back,” said the fighter known as The Spider.
With the result, Silva improved to 34-6 (win-loss) while Diaz, 31, fell to 26-10 with one no contest.
Diaz, as his wont to, disagreed with the decision.
“I felt like I won every round,” Diaz told UFC.com. “I love Anderson Silva, great guy. These judges don’t like my attitude sometimes, but I’ve got to push my guy to throw, so I can get my fight going.”