Tonight we saw classic Anderson Silva and classic Nick Diaz, Silva was better.
Anderson Silva seemed to enter this fight with a new resolve, a new mentality. The old Anderson Silva would’ve given into Nick Diaz’s taunting and engaged in a slugfest. Diaz wanted to brawl but Anderson was okay with using his movement to circle the ring and set up clean opportunities.
That strategy led to some funny back-and-forths like this:
Anderson stuck with this reserved approach for all 5 rounds. Every now and then he’d try a huge spinning kick or a jump knee but those were few and far between. Sure Silva has lost some quickness but that can be expected from a 38 year old fighter. What was more unexpected was the loss of his killer instinct.
Watching this Anderson fight was a lot like watching Mayweather fights. He often made Diaz look silly by narrowly dodging a huge punch or by letting close punches glance off of him. He knew he was the smarter fighter in the cage and used that to win.
The fans booed at times and Diaz was obviously frustrated but Silva did what many ageing athletes do, use their experience to win fights.
Silva hinted toward retirement at the end of this fight but if he chooses to step into the octagon again I feel like this is the Silva we will see. a more defensive Spider. A patient Anderson that will pick apart opponents and look to not lose.
Either way tonight’s fight was great for MMA fans and these two fighters put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten.