Questions abounded ahead of Anderson Silva’s return to the octagon as fight fans wondered whether Silva’s chin and leg would hold up following his pair of devastating losses to UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
But “The Spider” answered each and every one of them with aplomb en route to a clear unanimous decision victory against Nick Diaz in the wee hours of this morning.
The trash talking from Diaz (26-10, 1NC) started early as he attempted to goad the former 185lb champion into taking risks when the pair met at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
But it was “The Spider” who crawled back into the contention picture as he won each and every round of a striking test which he passed with flying colours.
The only blemish on the performance of Silva (34-6) came with the fact that, try as he did, he was unable to get the finish.
The 39-year-old showed off glimpses of his toolbox contents, though, by attacking with oblique kicks, Thai clinches and straight punches as he made a welcome return to MMA 399 days since his last fight.
Silva collapsed in delight after hearing the 49-46, 50-45, 50-45 scorecards being read out, after which he was admirably consoled by Diaz.
What’s next for the Brazilian is now unknown as he revealed in his post-fight interview that his family had been asking him to retire from the sport but we’re hoping that he holds tough and is rewarded with a chance to regain his middleweight strap before he calls time on an illustrious MMA career.
