Anderson Silva does not rule out a belt in the future and promises historic fight against Nick Diaz

A. Silva (photo) returns to the octagon at UFC 183, in January 2015. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

One of the biggest doubts about the return of Anderson Silva to the Octagon is whether or not the Brazilian will seek to compete for the middleweight belt again in the future, after two consecutive defeats to Chris Weidman in 2013. And if until now Anderson seemed far from fighting for the title, this Friday (01) the Spider left the way open to challenge the champion once again if he puts together a good sequence of victories upon his return.

“I have seven more fights on my contract and I'm going to do all these fights because it's what I like to do. I'm in the 84kg category and, if I qualify again to fight for the title, of course I'll want to fight for the belt. But my plan now is to fight again and gain confidence again, I want to see how I behave”, said Spider during a conference call with the press.

Spider also commented on the choice of Nick Diaz as an opponent for his return. “I always paid attention to the best fighters in the UFC and those who could be my possible opponents, but I never imagined fighting with the Nick Diaz. Despite that, I saw all of their fights and I think he's an excellent fighter. He has jiu-jitsu and excellent boxing, I think it will be a fight with a lot of striking”, he commented.

Furthermore, Anderson also promised a historic duel in terms of striking on January 31st, at UFC 183. “I accepted this fight because I believe it will be a good fight for the fans, for him and for me. We haven't fought for a while, I'm coming back from an injury, but I know he's going to fight standing up, he's going to get the fight, he has excellent boxing and he's going to have a standing fight that everyone wants to see. I believe it will be one of the best striking fights in UFC history” he added.

Finally, the former middleweight champion analyzed another sensitive point in his opponent: his provocative behavior. Always averse to arguments on microphones, Spider appeared calm regarding the possible attacks he could receive until the clash in Las Vegas (USA). “I'm thinking about doing my job. I can't talk about Nick Diaz as a person because I don't know him. I had few opportunities to be with him and talk. Nick has never disrespected me and I hope he doesn't, because he has no reason to. He doesn’t know me as a person, I don’t know him as a person and we’re going to have a great fight,” he concluded.

On January 31th, Anderson Silva returns to the Octagon one year and one month after fracturing his left leg in the rematch against Chris Weidman. Spider is in the main fight of UFC 183 against Nick Diaz, who also returns to Ultimate after announcing his retirement in March 2013. The five-round fight will be valid in the middleweight category, with a weight limit of up to 84 kg.

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