Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown for UFC 183
It's been too long, and what a wait it's been.
A gruesome broken leg prevented Anderson Silva from stepping inside of the cage for over a year. A loss of competitive spirit (or monetary incentive) prevented Nick Diaz from stepping inside of the cage for a little under two years.
Presumably in the red corner, there will be a man who's blazed a trail of historic proportions, destroying the Chael Sonnens, Vitor Belforts, Dan Hendersons, Rich Franklins and Forrest Griffins of the MMA landscape. The guy in the blue corner is no slouch either, building a pretty impressive resume of his own. Diaz has stockpiled wins over B.J. Penn, Frank Shamrock and Paul Daley. He's also the only guy who has knocked Robbie Lawler out inside of a cage.
Buckle yourself in as we break the UFC 183 main event down from head to toe.
Striking
1 of 5
Many of us are hoping this fight is exclusively a striking battle (under the dangerous assumption that neither man has lost a step during his extended layoff).
Between Diaz's pressure-first, volume-heavy boxing attack and Silva's sniper-esque, wait-and-see counterstriking, fans should be primed for one of the better striking matches in recent memory.
But while both men hold impressive accomplishments in the stand-up department, one of the fighters truly stands out. He's knocked opponents out with knees from the clinch, front kicks to the face or your everyday Matrix-like boxing techniques.
Every one of Silva's opponents has taken the silver medal in the striking department; Diaz will be no different.
Edge: Silva
Wrestling
2 of 5
Make no mistake about it—neither of these two men are impressive wrestlers (not even close).
By the numbers reported by FightMetric, Diaz is successful in defending 60 percent of all takedown attempts and able to complete 33 percent of his own. Silva, on the other hand, defends 69 percent of them while completing 77 percent of his own.
A notable difference here is in takedowns attempted, which points to Diaz as the superior wrestler. The biggest difference here likely won't have much to do with any statistical information, however; it'll have to do with sheer size.
Silva's inherently bigger frame as a natural 185-pounder will give the true welterweight as many problems as he can handle in this facet of the matchup.
Edge: Silva
Grappling
3 of 5
Many of us hope the fight remains standing, but all things considered, getting the fight to the ground wouldn't be so bad.
Diaz holds a black belt under the tutelage of Cesar Gracie. Silva has a black belt of his own, a third-degree sash under the Nogueira brothers. But as often seen in MMA, all black belts are not equal.
If they were, the former middleweight champion wouldn't have been so unwelcoming to the idea of fighting Demian Maia on the ground at UFC 112, nor would he have avoided the same sort of matchup with Thales Leites at UFC 97 just two fights prior. He'd been submitted twice before, and he wouldn't risk a third time with his prized UFC gold on the line.
The Gracie jiu-jitsu fighter has never been submitted, though, which matters in this one.
Edge: Diaz
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X-Factors
4 of 5
Both Fighters: Mind Games
We typically cater a few paragraphs to each fighter's individual X-factor leading up to the fight, but these two fighters are similar.
They don't just prod other fighters in the Octagon. They often taunt their opponents, goading them into the sort of fight Silva and Diaz want to be in, a fight they know they can win (excepting that one time against Chris Weidman).
Silva has made a name for himself as the man who puts his hands down, bobs and weaves out of the way before pouncing on his opponent with the kill shot.
Diaz has done a good job himself by verbally antagonizing his opponents inside the cage. It's the Diaz way.
Neither fighter has started any sort of mind game just yet. Diaz has been uncharacteristically cordial in the lead-up to one of the biggest fights of his career. With no ammo, Silva needn't respond.
But who knows what's going to happen once both men enter the cage? Will Silva drop his hands down and willingly rest his back up against the cage? Will Diaz call Silva names and ask him if he can offer anything more?
Only time will tell.
Prediction
5 of 5
Amid all the excitement in the lead-up to UFC 183, we mustn't forget that this is just as much for our entertainment as it is for traditional competition (if not more, actually).
This was never meant to serve as a true test for the former middleweight champion. Instead, it was merely meant to welcome Silva back into the cage with a popular name he was more than able—if not wholeheartedly expected—to defeat.
They may not admit it, but that's the plan. It has always been the plan.
That's not to say things couldn't go against the grain here. Diaz is certainly capable of boxing Silva to pieces if the former middleweight king is only capable of gracing us with a shell of his former self. But until the (arguably) greatest fighter of all time proves he's no longer competent enough to hold onto that moniker, you have to side with him, especially against a smaller opponent.
Prediction: Silva defeats Diaz via second-round TKO
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University's student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec, and a programming intern at Fox Sports San Diego. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
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