UFC 183 Results: Winners and Scorecards from Silva vs. Diaz Fight Card
After a 13-month absence from The Octagon, Anderson "The Spider" Silva enjoyed a victorious return to competition. On Saturday in the main event of UFC 183, Silva easily won an unanimous decision over Nick Diaz.
MMA Weekly has the official scorecards:
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Early on Diaz entertained us with his antics. He taunted Silva by lying down on the mat, turning his back and inviting Silva into exchanges. The usually flamboyant Silva was all business. He picked Diaz apart with strikes from the outside. Diaz landed shots periodically, but none of them seemed to have any adverse effect on The Spider.
Anyone who was worried about the left leg Silva broke in his last fight had to breathe a sigh of relief. Silva repeatedly fired the attack and landed it against Diaz.
By the third round, Diaz looked slow, less than dangerous and simply going through the motions. Silva continued to land, he busted Diaz's face up, but he could never really hurt his opponent. Nonetheless, Silva is back in the win column and healthy. When the final decision was read, Silva was overcome with emotions.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting and Fox Sports UFC has quotes from The Spider:
It seems just a matter of time before The Spider will get a third shot at middleweight champion Chris Weidmanโif he wants it. Silva talked about walking away from the sport at the request of his family. He seemed non-committal on a return. At this point, we don't know what's next for Silva and the middleweight division.
Weidman was scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort on Feb. 28, but an injury has forced him out of that fight. Time will tell whether we're heading for an interim title fight, and whether Silva will be in the title picture.
Check out the results table below and a breakdown of the other fights below.
| Matchup | Weight Class | Result |
| Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz | Middleweight | Santos by KO (first round) |
| Richardson Moreira vs. Ildemar Alcantara | Middleweight | Alcantara by split decision (29-28x2, 28-29) |
| Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes | Featherweight | Cancelled |
| Matchup | Weight Class | Result |
| Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson | Middleweight | Natal by unanimous decision (30-27x2, 30-26) |
| Ian McCall vs. John Lineker | Flyweight | Lineker by unanimous decision (29-28x3) |
| Derek Brunson vs. Ed Herman | Middleweight | Brunson by KO (first round) |
| Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann | Women's Bantamweight | Tate by majority decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-28) |
| Matchup | Weight Class | Result |
| Jordan Mein vs. Thiago Alves | Welterweight | Alves KO (second round) |
| Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch | Middleweight | Leites submission (second round) |
| Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta | Lightweight | Iaquinta TKO (second round) |
| Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum | Welterweight | Woodley by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) |
| Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz | Middleweight | Silva by unanimous decision (50-45x2, 49-46) |
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
Illness Forces Jimy Hettes out of Prelim Bout
On Friday, two fighters had weight issues. Saturday, Hettes fell ill prior to his bout with Brandao, and the fight was scratched, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
This was potentially a big fight for both men, and it was a little better matchup than fans usually get with the UFC Fight Pass prelims. Welp, on to the next one. We can only help Hettes is OK.
Kill the Body and the Head Will Follow
Thiago Santos followed that formula en route to a dominant first-round finish over Andy Enz. Santos landed some kicks to the midsection and then finished flurried against Enz to grab the win. Okamoto give his take on the bout:
Enz landed just one strike in the entire bout. Santos was on the attack from the beginning of the bout, and things were over just three minutes and three seconds in. He was impressive in defeat against Uriah Hall in his last bout. On Saturday night, he proved that he is one to watch moving forward.ย
Bathroom-Break Bout
If you were looking for a fight that you could walk away from to shave, or to begin a body cleanse, it was the Richardson Moreira vs. Ildemar Alcantara bout. The latter won a split decision by out-landing Moreira in a punch-less affair to earn the nod from two of the three judges.
Alcantara landed a total of 21 total strikes in the entire fight...and he was the winner.
While the bout wasn't great, Mike Bohn of USA Today tells us that Alcantara at least set a bit of UFC history with the victory.
Women's bantamweight Lauren Murphy was in attendance, and she is hilarious. Here's her take on a disgruntled fan in the crowd.
That tweet doesn't require any further analysis. Lauren gives us everything we could ever want right there. I will say, on personality alone, I can't wait to see her take on Liz Carmouche on April 4 at UFC Fight Night in Fairfax, Virginia.
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Sapo Tames Kong
With a performance that will undoubtedly be featured in his personal highlight reel, Rafael "Sapo" Natal simply took Tom "Kong" Watson to school. Natal dominated this fight in every way. He scored eight takedowns to none for Watson.
In the standup, Natal more than doubled Watson's effectiveness in striking (67-29). Natal doesn't always look as good as you'd expect, but as Jordan Breen of Sherdog states, Sapo was at the top of his game on Saturday night.
Hands of Stone Wears Down Uncle Creepy
This one was an early favorite for Fight of the Night, but there's still a lot of scrapping to come. UFC Canada also thought this bout was great.
On the strength of sledgehammer-like body shots, two near-misses on guillotine chokes and a huge right hand in the third round, John "Hands of Stone" Lineker beat Ian "Uncle Creepy" McCall.
Lineker plodded forward being judicious with his striking. It only took 38 significant strikes to get the job done. He made up for his inactivity by being destructive with every punch he threw. The work to the body was exemplary. After splitting the first two rounds, Lineker claimed the decisive frame with a flurry against the cage that nearly put McCall down.
Uncle Creepy escaped, but enough was done to ensure he wouldn't be the winner. Unfortunately for the flyweight division, Lineker missed weight, per Okamoto, and thus Hands of Stone can't really advance in the rankings. Damon Martin of Fox Sports breaks down where that leaves the 125-pound weight class and its champion.
Ever the competitor, even UFC flyweight champion frets at Lineker's inability to make 125 pounds.
Derek Brunson Makes Quick Work of Short Fuse
It only took 36 seconds for Derek Brunson to extinguish Ed "Short Fuse" Herman. Two well-placed left hands sent Herman reeling, and Brunson showed he knows how to finish.
A flurry of punches forced referee Dan Mirigliota to rescue Herman from further damage. UFC UK tells us about the select group Brunson joined with the quick win. After the fight was over, Brunson talked about his win and his dance. Who's it for Derek? Watch yourself.
Miesha Wins over the Majority
After being in trouble in the first round, Miesha "Cupcake" Tate outgrappled world-class wrestler Sara McMann en route to a majority-decision win.
The latter hurt Tate with a huge right hand in the first round, but she couldn't finish here. Tate locked in a guillotine that she nearly finished in the second round. The third round was all Tate as she took top position within the first 10 seconds and never gave it up.
She so dominated the last frame, one judge gave Tate a 10-8 round. MMA fighter Marcus Kowal was left scratching his head by the judges' scores, but he applauded the winner.
The Main Card
Alves Out of Nowhere
In a fight he was clearly losing, Thiago Alves came up with a clutch kick to Jordan Mein's stomach in the second round that led to the stoppage.
Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times and Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports were shocked at the way things shifted in the bout.
Alves pounced and rained down punches before Mein could catch his breath. Referee Herb Dean stepped in to halt the assault. It was an especially disappointing defeat for Mein because he was fighting so well. He had outstruck Alves 37-23 before the perfectly placed kick ended his night.
Mein hurt Alves in the first round, but he couldn't stop the rugged Brazilian. This one will probably sting for awhile.
Leites' Desperation Submission Stops Boetsch
Thales Leites was beaten up, but he was not beaten by Tim Boetsch. After being wobbled and nearly stopped in the first round, Leites found a way to battle back and secure a submission win via triangle choke.
John Morgan of MMA Junkie and Okamoto talk about Leites' come-from-behind win.ย
Leites probably could have made this fight easier for himself by taking it to the ground earlier, but for whatever reason, he wanted to try and prove he could bang with The Barbarian. That strategy nearly cost him a win.
Iaquinta Rocks Lauzon
Despite Joe Lauzon showing a little more than expected in the stand-up, he ultimately met his end after Al Iaquinta landed a nasty combination that put Lauzon in trouble.
Pugmire pinpoints a punch to the ear that looked to disturb Lauzon's equilibrium as the key shot.
Instead of rushing in recklessly when Lauzon was hurt, Iaquinta took his time and methodically pounded Lauzon until the referee was forced to stop the bout.
Woodley Wins a Snoozer
For a while, the Moreira-Alcantara bout was the worst of the night, but Tyron Woodley's split-decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum was right up there. Perhaps this one was worse because the fight actually came with some high expectations.
These two elite welterweights nearly put us to sleep as opposed to thrilling us.
Woodley deserved to win the decision based on his ability to find the mark with a few hard right hands. Those shots were the only notable moments of the fight. Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting agreed with the result.
Even in victory, Woodley didn't exactly make himself one of the must-see contenders at 170. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes him to get a title shot.
All stats per UFC.com.
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