A. Silva's (right) last time at the MGM Grand does not bring back good memories. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Almost a year ago, when he left the MGM Grand Garden on a stretcher and with a broken leg, many doubted that Anderson Silva I wouldn't even step foot in the octagon again. Because the Brazilian will not only return to the ring, but he will do so in the same place as his tragic injury. After announcing the return of Spider against Nick Diaz for UFC 183, on January 31, 2015, the Ultimate organization, which had already announced that the event would take place in Las Vegas (USA), confirmed on Monday night (10) that the MGM Grand will be the stage for the card.
For Anderson, the place doesn't really bring back good memories. After all, in addition to the aforementioned injury in the rematch against Chris Weidman, it was at the MGM Grand Garden Arena that Spider lost the middleweight belt to the same Weidman in July last year. On the other hand, the only good memory of the place for Anderson comes from his first visit to the house, in 2012, when the Brazilian beat his great rival for the second time Chael Sonnen.
With its confirmation as the venue for UFC 183, the MGM Grand, which will host UFC 182 just 28 days earlier, will become the most frequent Ultimate venue in history. Currently, the casino and hotel shares the position with Mandalay Bay, both with 29 events already held. However, Mandalay, controlled by the same group as MGM, has only one more card scheduled – UFC 181, on December 6th.
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UFC 183 has the anticipated return of Anderson Silva as the main fight, against the return Nick Diaz – who gave up his premature retirement, announced in March last year. In addition to the duel, all five other fights already announced for the card include Brazilians: Thales leites x Tim Boetsch, Diego Brandao x Jimy Hettes, Richardson Moreira x Ildemar Marajó, Thiago Pitbull x Jordan Mein and Thiago Marreta x Andy Enz.
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