UFC 183 Full Fight Card: Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz on UFC PPV

By Jim Gardner, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, January 31, 2015

UFC 183 takes place on Saturday night with a huge comeback fight for Anderson Silva who will be headlining the event with a match against Nick Diaz. UFC 183 will feature a massive fight card, with things getting started at 8 p.m. ET from the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A full fight card list can be found below, with all fights being available to watch on Fox Sports 1, Live PPV.

This will be Anderson Silva's comeback fight after he suffered an horrific injury in his fight against UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in December 2013. Fans shuddered in horror as a kick from Silva was blocked by Weidman, resulting in Silva's leg to snap.

Most had expected veteran fighter Silva to retire after that injury, however, the hugely popular Brazilian UFC star has refused to give in, immediately going on the long path to recover and be rehabilitated. His dedication has paid off, and the fight tonight will be an emotional and rewarding return for him.

Silva is a former middleweight champion, who successfully defended his title 10 times prior to his defeat at the hands of Weiman in 2013. However, after a long period out he now believes he can get back to the top of the UFC again.

Silva, 39, has said ahead of the fight: "I'm very excited because it's my legacy, it's my dream, and the new Anderson is back. So more experience, more technique, I'm faster, stronger and happier. And the UFC is giving me one more chance to show my job and when I go inside the Octagon."

Prior to his defeats to Weiman, the fighter was looking to cement his reputation as the greatest UFC fighter of all time. That legacy took a knock through his two defeats, however, he is now looking to reassert his reputation, and finish his career on top.

Diaz will be no push-over though. He is well-known to be a tough opponent, who is willing to go toe-to-toe and make life difficult. However, most analysts are making Silva the big favorite to win here tonight.

UFC President Dana White has said, "Anderson is looking to come back, get a win, and get back on track. He wants to test his leg out and see how he does in an actual fight. Diaz is looking to capitalize on possibly the mental weakness right now of Anderson - the layoff, the age, everything. It's very interesting."

UFC 183 is scheduled to start at 6.30 p.m. ET with some early preliminary fights, and those fights can be watched online through UFC Fight Pass.

After that at 8 p.m. ET there will be four more preliminaries shown on Fox Sports 1.

The main card will start at 10 p.m. ET, and there are scheduled to be four fights in the run-up to the Silva vs Diaz fight.

The full UFC 183 fight card can be seen below:

UFC 183 Main Event:
185 lbs.: Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz

UFC 183 Pay-Per-View (PPV) Main Card (10 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum
155 lbs.: Al Iaquinta vs. Joe Lauzon
185 lbs.: Tim Boetsch vs. Thales Leites
170 lbs.: Thiago Alves vs. Jordan Mein

UFC 183 FOX Sports 1 "Prelims" ( 8 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Sara McMann vs. Miesha Tate
185 lbs.: Derek Brunson vs. Ed Herman
125 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Ian McCall
185 lbs.: Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson

UFC 183 Fight Pass "Prelims" (7 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes
185 lbs.: Ildemar Alcantara vs. Richardson Moreira
185 lbs.: Andy Enz vs. Thiago Santos