UFC announces Anderson Silva's return for January against Nick Diaz

Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Now it's official. Anderson Silva will make his long-awaited return to the UFC on January 31st, when he will face Nick Diaz in the city of Las Vegas, in the United States. The announcement was made by the organization's president, Dana White, in an interview with the North American channel “ESPN”.

The fight, which will take place in the middleweight category (up to 84 kg), should be the main fight of UFC 183, which will take place on the eve of the Super Bowl, the final of the NFL, an American football league. This means the fight will be five rounds of five minutes long.

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The return will take place practically a year and a month after the serious injury suffered by the Brazilian at UFC 168, when he broke his leg during the fight against Chris Weidman, valid for the Ultimate middleweight belt. At 39 years old, “Spider” established himself as one of the great names in the history of MMA, reigning in the middleweight category between October 2006 and July 2013. Among his victims are names such as Rich Franklin (twice), Chael Sonnen (twice), Dan Henderson, Forrest griffin e Vitor belfort.

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Diaz, 30 years old, also hasn't fought since 2013, when he lost to Georges St Pierre in March, in a fight that had the welterweight belt at stake. In his record, the former Strikeforce champion has 26 wins and nine losses, having triumphs over names like B.J. Penn, Frank Shamrock and Robbie Lawler.