Anderson Silva's next fight against Nick Diaz is already being anticipated by "the Spider," who expressed his excitement for a possible stand-up battle against Nick Diaz. The former UFC middleweight champion is also not closing his doors on a possible third title fight against reigning 185-pound king Chris Weidman.
Anderson Silva's next fight against Nick Diaz is slated for UFC 183 on January 31st in the coming year, in Las Vegas. Since the fight was announced earlier this year, there had been no bad blood between both fighters, more unusually, from the side of Diaz.
"The Spider" also pointed out that his UFC return is mainly for his legions of supporters.
"It's going to be a show for the fans," Silva said in a report by MMA Fighting. "It will make history as the best striking match of all-time."
Silva has always been known as a respectful fighter towards his opponent. As he braces himself to face "MMA's Bad Boy" and former Strikeforce champion, "The Spider" expressed his excitement to engage in a stand-up battle against Diaz.
"If Nick does a clean fight, if he fights standing without stalling, we'll do a spectacular fight," Silva stated. "Nick has a great boxing and it's going to be a fantastic fight. Every UFC fan will like it."
"Nick Diaz is a tough guy," he added. "He fights really well, has a great physical condition and a great technique, so it's going to be a nice fight."
Anderson Silva's next fight is happening after more than a year since his last Octagon appearance at UFC 168 in December 2013, against current champion Chris Weidman. The 39-year old suffered an almost career-ending broken leg injury, which sent him in the sidelines.
While Silva did say that he would be foregoing any further title runs, he has retracted such statements in recent interviews as well. Now, he has been more specific with his intentions, noting that he is not closing his doors on a possible third fight against Weidman.
"I will fight the fights I have left in my contract and, if I earn a chance to fight for the title one day, against (Weidman) or not - not being a friend or a training partner -, I will be happy," Silva declared.
