UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz Early Main Card Preview and Predictions

UFC 182 is in the books, and while it was a less-than-stellar event in a lot of ways, MMA fans would be hard-pressed not to get stoked about the promotion's next UFC pay-per-view, UFC 183 on January 31. Headlined by the tantalizing almost superfight between former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and backed up by multiple title-relevant tilts and sure-to-be-exciting matches, UFC 183 offers a great deal to be excited for.

You can see the full card here:

Main Card

• Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz
• Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum 
• Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann 
• Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta 
• Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch 

Preliminary Card

• Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz 
• Jordan Mein vs. Thiago Alves 
• Richardson Moreira vs. Ildemar Alcantara 
• Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes 
• Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson 
• Ian McCall vs. John Lineker 
• Ed Herman vs. Derek Brunson

So what can you look forward to on the main card? What is the early outlook for each bout? Read on and find out!

Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch

USA TODAY Sports

Division: Middleweight
Records: Thales Leites (24-4), Tim Boetsch (18-7)

Leites has put together one of the greatest comeback stories in the UFC. The former middleweight contender took a great deal of heat for the yawn-inducing UFC 97 main event in April 2009 and was cut just four months later. After four years as an MMA ronin, he was invited back and has been surprisingly dominant ever since. 

Boetsch, on the other hand, wildly swings back and forth between being a hard-hitting power wrestler and being generally bad at MMA. While he has scored wins over solid competition like Yushin Okami, CB Dollaway and Hector Lombard, he has also been dominated in three of his five most recent bouts. While he has the size and power to contend with most modern middleweights, he is a true gatekeeper in the division.

As a result, this fight is all about where Leites is in his career. While he is riding a seven-fight winning streak and is 4-0 since returning to the UFC, none of his opponents have ever been mistaken for true title contenders. If he is truly as good as he has looked over the last 18 months, he should be able to step over Boetsch in a big way. If not, Boetsch will put together his first winning streak since 2012.

Prediction: Leites, Decision

Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Division: Lightweight
Records: Joe Lauzon (24-9), Al Iaquinta (10-3-1)

The old guard of super-excitement at 155 pounds is Joe Lauzon. The new guard might just be Al Iaquinta.

Iaquinta, who trains with the Serra-Longo Fight Team, turned in a star-making performance at UFC Fight Night 55. Bleacher Report's own Jonathan Snowden discussed the fighter's outing: 

"

It had the makings of a star turn—but if his fists left any doubt, Iaquinta's subsequent interview in the cage with UFC announcer Dan Hardy settled it once and for all...Al Iaquinta is for real. He said he was going to stand and bang. He delivered—and did so against one of the division's best strikers. He's ready for a top opponent. And this time, when he talks, we'd be smart to listen.

"

Indeed, Iaquinta has demonstrated his potency standing, and he trains with one of the best crews in the business when it comes to grappling. It is easy to buy into him from a skills perspective, and that alone makes it easy to imagine him beating J-Lau, who has historically struggled against anything but mid-level competition.

Prediction: Iaquinta, Round 2 TKO

Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann

Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

Division: Women's Bantamweight
Records: Miesha Tate (15-5), Sara McMann (8-1)

In a crucial women's bantamweight fight, former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate faces off with Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann. Both ladies have lost to Ronda Rousey, but with the dominant champ teasing a full-time move to Hollywood, it is possible we may be seeing these fighters set themselves up for a shot at filling the vacant title.

The fight is an interesting one, regardless of the title implications. Tate has established herself as two different fighters—the fast-paced, finish-focused wrestler we saw against Marloes Coenen and Julie Kedzie and the mediocre grinder that we saw against Rin Nakai and Liz Carmouche. One of those fighters is capable of beating McMann—the other is not.

If the "old" Tate shows up, her all-over-the-cage skills will allow her to contend with McMann and, potentially, to outpoint the Olympian in any given round. If the slow, plodding Tate comes back, however, McMann will likely eat up minutes in the clinch and on the ground en route to a handy decision win.

Prediction: McMann, Decision

Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

Division: Welterweight
Records: Tyron Woodley (14-3), Kelvin Gastelum (10-0)

The welterweight title picture is already in a weird state with Rory MacDonald getting a title shot pulled out from under him, Hector Lombard owning the "MMA Math" claim to a crack at the champ and Johny Hendricks getting a square-peg-circular-hole rubber match with Robbie Lawler.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum, however, is looking to make things even more complicated. He is poised to face Tyron Woodley, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the welterweight division, it will be hard to argue against Gastelum getting a title shot with another win...but can he actually pull it off?

That is an interesting question. Woodley has strong individual skills, including an extensive wrestling resume and huge knockout power. Gastelum has proved himself to be quite skilled already, but the big X-factor here is how quickly he has been developing.

The Gastelum who barely scraped by the middling Rick Story in March likely won't have what it takes to break down Woodley. If his skills have continued snowballing, he might just pull it off. The safer bet, however, is that Woodley manages to work Gastelum with his wrestling and do damage with his heavy hands.

Prediction: Woodley, Round 3 TKO

Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

Division: Middleweight
Records: Anderson Silva (33-6), Nick Diaz (26-9 (1))

Phew, this is one attractive main event. Anderson Silva is known for savage, scary knockouts like the ones we saw against Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort. Nick Diaz is known for exciting, fast-paced fights like what we saw against Paul Daley and Takanori Gomi. Putting them together in the same cage and having them face off is almost guaranteed to end in excitement. 

That said, this fight hinges on Silva's physical and mental state. The Spider remains one of the best fighters there is standing and owns a major size advantage on the ground. The only opening for Diaz is whether Silva, who is 39 years old and coming off a major leg injury, has his head (and shin) screwed on well enough that he can pull off the kind of feats he did back in 2011.

If Silva can't keep up with Diaz, he might just be in for a long, difficult night against Stockton's native son. If he enters the Octagon in anything resembling the shape he was in a few years ago, this should be a lopsided win for Silva. Check out my full preview here.

Prediction: Silva, Decision