Silva vs. Diaz Results: Winner, Analysis, Key Moments and Factors in the Bout

Anderson "The Spider" Silva returned to The Octagon on Saturday night at UFC 183, and he came away with a unanimous-decision win over Nick Diaz. Silva wasn't at his best, as he ate 77 significant strikes from Diaz, but none of them hurt him, and he was still able to win convincingly.

The moment everyone was waiting for took place about midway through the first round. Silva threw a leg kick with his previously injured left leg. While he had endured 13 months of rehabilitation and had undoubtedly thrown thousands of them during training, there still had to be a mental hurdle to overcome by throwing the strike in a live fight.

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Silva did it without pain, issue or hesitancy. Per the pay-per-view broadcast, Diaz mentioned that he was waiting to see if Silva would use the strike that had become a staple in the legendary Brazilian's arsenal.

Once Silva let loose with the kick, Diaz knew he was dealing with a fully-equipped opponent.

Speed was the biggest factor throughout the fight. Silva was simply beating Diaz to the punch on most occasions. The jab and one-two combinations did the most damage. Silva landed more than half of his 108 strikes to Diaz's head, and the latter's face showed the wear from the shots.

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By the fifth round, Diaz was bleeding profusely from above and below his left eye. Despite the fact that Silva outlanded and connected at a higher rate than Diaz in every round, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, the polarizing American complained about the judges' scorecards:

It's hard to win a fight when the other guy not only lands more but also hits you at a higher percentage. I'm just saying.

When the fight was over, Silva hinted at possibly retiring. Per Fox Sports UFC, the all-time great said there is no timetable for him to decide if he'll fight again:

At 39 years old and having rebounded from a gruesome leg injury, Silva doesn't have anything else to prove. He's already going to go down as perhaps the greatest mixed martial artist ever. Leaving the game on a winning note, with his body and mind intact, is as good as it will get for him.

He could chase Chris Weidman to avenge the two losses he suffered against him, but in the long run, that wouldn't change his legacy very much. Getting out now is the most advisable move for The Spider.

All stats per FightMetric.