Silva has good cry, last laugh over Diaz at UFC 183
Nick Diaz posed, talked trash and taunted Anderson Silva from the opening bell of their UFC 183 main event bout Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden.
In short, Diaz delivered his best Silva impression.
In the end, he failed to mix in the precision offensive attacks Silva usually adds to the theatrics.
Silva won all five rounds on two scorecards and four on the other to claim a unanimous decision. The former middleweight champion was returning from a 13-month layoff because of a broken leg suffered in the same arena in December 2013.
Silva was emotional after the win, falling on his back and crying on the mat as soon as the scores were announced.
“I went through a lot of suffering this past year,” Silva said. “In the beginning, I thought I may not be able to come back. Thank you God.”
Silva showed only glimpses of the immense talent that made him the longest reigning champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. He peppered Diaz with strikes throughout the bizarre fight, leaving little doubt as to the outcome once it went to the scorecards.
But Diaz wasn’t convinced.
He said he thought he was ahead throughout most of the fight and appeared surprised when Silva was announced as the winner.
“These judges out here don’t really like my attitude sometimes, I guess,” Diaz said.
Also on the main card, Tyron Woodley retained his place among the top welterweight contenders division with a split decision over Kelvin Gastelum, though his performance isn’t likely to have fans clamoring to see him in a title fight.
Woodley and Gastelum battled through long periods of inactivity that had the crowd booing as the scores were announced.
“I wanted to go the distance, and I wanted to try to do something different than just go out there and King Kong everyone,” Woodley said. “I’m just happy I got to go the distance and show I can do more than just knock people out.”
Woodley, a two-time All-America wrestler in college, didn’t attempt a takedown.
Lightweight Al Iaquinta won his third straight fight and sixth of seven with a second-round stoppage of Joe Lauzon.
Iaquinta dropped Lauzon with a punch, but Lauzon got back to his feet. Iaquinta patiently followed Lauzon around the cage, landing punches as he struggled to regain his bearings. It never happened, and the referee mercifully stepped in to save Lauzon, who refused to fall.
Thales Leites submitted Tim Boetsch in the second round of a middleweight bout.
Boetsch had hurt Leites with several big punches and knocked him down early in the second round, but Leites got Boetsch to the ground with him and eventually finished the fight with an arm triangle.
“My game plan was to stand and trade with him, but he hit me hard in the first round and was closing distance fast,” Leites said. “I still wanted to show that I have good stand-up, too, but then he hit me hard again, so I said, ‘Man, only jiu jitsu from here on out,’ and it was great. I got the win using my background.”
Thiago Alves opened the main card with a second-round knockout of welterweight Jordan Mein. Mein controlled the first round by picking apart Alves, who had fought just once since March 2012.
Alves captured his second straight victory by landing a body kick in the opening moments of the second round. Mein staggered backward and dropped to a knee, prompting Alves to rush in and finish the fight with a knee, followed by a series of punches.
Las Vegan Miesha Tate overcame a disastrous first round to rally for a majority decision over Olympic silver medal-winning wrestler Sara McMann in the featured bout on the preliminary card.
Tate, a Washington native and Seattle Seahawks fan who planned on getting in a rented RV and driving to the Super Bowl early Sunday, was knocked down with a big right hand and almost finished as McMann dominated early.
The tide changed late in the second round, as Tate almost finished the fight with a guillotine choke. McMann went for a hip toss in the opening seconds of the third round, but Tate ended up in top position and remained there for the entire five minutes.
“I was hurt, so I just hung on for dear life and tried to gather my wits so that I could come back in the later rounds,” Tate said. “I just kept her close so she had less of an opportunity to get the finish. It’s tough talking about fights without having seen them on screen, but I think I gutted out the last two rounds and got the win.”
Tate won 29-28 and 29-27 on two scorecards, with two judges awarding her a 10-8 round in the third. The final judge called the fight a 28-28 draw.
John Lineker could have earned himself a flyweight title shot with his unanimous decision over Ian McCall, but Lineker missed weight Friday for the fourth time in eight tries since signing with the UFC.
He admitted after the victory that he needs to move up to bantamweight.
Rafael Natal and Ildemar Alcantera also won decisions. Two middleweight fights ended early, as Derek Brunson needed 36 seconds to knock out Ed Herman, and Thiago Santos knocked out Andy Enz in 1:56.
A scheduled featherweight bout between Jimy Hettes and Diego Brandao was canceled when Hettes fainted in the locker room while preparing to fight. He was transported to a local hospital and released before the end of the card.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
