UFC 183: Silva defeats Diaz in his return to the Octagon
Former middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva made a triumphant return to the Octagon Saturday, scoring a unanimous decision over Nick Diaz.
See the storyline below for a rundown of the rest of the action.
Anderson Silva def. Nick Diaz via unanimous decision
Anderson Silva marked his return to the Octagon with a unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz.
Diaz spent most of the opening round taunting "The Spider," while both men landed their fair share of strikes, with the Stockton bad-boy launching his pitter-patter boxing at the former champion, and Silva unleashing his lightning-fast strikes.
Silva found his range as the rounds continued, and started seriously out-landing Diaz on the feet, opening up a sizable gash underneath his left eye.
Related: For a more in depth story about Silva vs. Diaz, tap here
Tyron Woodley def. Kelvin Gastelum via split-decision
It wasn't pretty, but Tyron Woodley was able to sneak by Kelvin Gastelum via split decision.
Although Woodley rarely let his hands go, when he did, he landed some heavy shots, wobbling Gastelum multiple times with hard right hands.
Gastelum, though, did his best impression of Yul Brynner in Westworld, stalking Woodley for 15 minutes, and even turning up the heat and landing some vicious shots of his own in the final frame as Woodley seemed to run out of steam.
Al Iaquinta def. Joe Lauzon via second-round TKO (Punches)
Al Iaquinta used Joe Lauzon's dome for a little bit of the ultra-violence.
After a relatively even first round, Iaquinta turned up the heat in the second, landing what seemed like an vicious, unending combo (including what seemed like 11,000 brutal right hands), until referee Marc Goddard mercifully stepped in to save an obviously destroyed Lauzon at 3:34 of the round.
Related: to see the vicious stoppage, tap here.
Thales Leites def. Tim Boetsch via second-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
Thales Leites and Tim Boetsch engaged in a wonderful firefight, with Leites surviving some heavy leather before snaking in a fight-ending arm-triangle choke at 3:45 of the second frame.
For a round and a half, both men played a thrilling game of live action Rock 'em Sock 'em robots, with both giving as good as they got.
Midway through the middle stanza, "The Barbarian" cracked Leites with a brutal uppercut, forcing the Brazilian to seek a takedown. Once on the mat, Leites took over, failing on his first attempt at an arm-triangle, before finally choking Boetsch into unconsciousness on his second try.
Related: for video of Leites' slick submission, tap here.
Thiago Alves def. Jordan Mein via second-round TKO
Thiago Alves is a bad, bad man.
After being absolutely ripped up on the feet by Mein in the opening round, Alves came out like a man possessed in the second stanza, wrecking the Canadian with a vicious kick to the body before finishing him with a running knee and a barrage of left hands.
Miesha Tate def. Sara McMann via majority decision
Miesha Tate overcame adversity early against Sara McMann, and was able to outwork and out-grapple McMann en route to a majority decision victory.
McMann was shot out of a cannon in round one, flooring Tate with a pair of crushing right hands to the temple. The former Olympian controlled the rest of the round on top, landing a steady stream of ground-and-pound while Tate did her best to avoid taking too much damage.
After a relatively even start to the middle stanza, Tate, after being tagged by a stiff right, activated beast mode and started swinging wildly. She eventually sunk in a guillotine choke when McMann desperately dove for a double-leg. Though Tate couldn't finish the choke, she was in the driver's seat for much of the final two minutes.
Tate sealed the deal in the final frame, primarily hanging out in side control and half-guard as she peppered McMann with fists and elbows for the better part of five minutes.
Derek Brunson def. Ed Herman via first-round TKO (punches)
It only took Derek Brunson 36 seconds to dismantle Ed Herman.
Brunson staggered "Shot Fuse" into the fence with a stiff straight left, and sent him careening to the canvas with another left hand. From there, Brunson unleashed a flurry of punches on a prone Herman, until referee Mark Smith stepped in to stop the carnage.
Related: to see a video of Brunson smashing Herman, tap here
John Lineker def. Ian McCall via unanimous decision
John Lineker may have booked himself a shot at flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson... if he isn't forced to move up the bantamweight.
Lineker, who missed weight by four pounds on Friday (the fourth time he's missed weight in his UFC career), overcame a slow start to take a unanimous decision victory over Ian McCall.
"Uncle Creepy" dominated the first round with suffocating top control, but couldn't duplicate his early performance over the final 10 minutes and became a fast-twitch target practice for Lineker's powerful, winging punches.
The two men engaged in several violent games of fist-chicken, with "Hands of Stone" landing the harder, fight-altering shots.
Rafael Natal def. Tom Watson via unanimous decision
Rafael Natal opened up the Fox Sports 1 prelims with an excellent performance, outclassing Tom Watson in all aspects of the game en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
Natal was the more fluid, effective striker, easily out-landing Watson on the feet, while keeping the durable Englishman on his heels with superior wrestling and consistent takedowns.
Watson, like some sort of defective terminator, kept coming forward for 15 minutes while Natal picked him apart with stiff jabs, and bloodied "Kong's" visage with a steady stream of left hands.
Related: For video from the Santos/Enz fight tap here.
Ildemar Alcantara def. Richardson Moreira via split-decision
Ildemar Alcantara closed out the Fight Pass portion of the prelims with a split-decision victory over Richardson Moreira.
In what felt like a 15 minute feeling out process, Alcantara outstruck Moreira on the feet, landing effective kicks (including a couple solid head kicks) and knees while easily avoiding "Rick Monstro's" slower, wilder punches.
The crowd showed their displeasure for the uneventful bout, booing lustily multiple times during the three-round affair.
Thiago Santos def. Andy Enz via first-round TKO (punches)
In the evening's curtain-jerker Thiago Santos made quick work of Andy Enz, polishing off the Alaskan with brutal ground-and-pound at 1:56 of the opening round.
After a brief feeling out process, Santos hurt Enz with a rib-roasting kick and swarmed on him with a violent volley of fists. Enz eventually dropped to the mat, and Santos followed him, landing a series of punches and hammer-fists until referee Mark Smith stepped in to end the onslaught.
UFC 183 Fight Card
Main Card
Nick Diaz vs. Anderson Silva
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyron Woodley
Al Iaquinta vs. Joe Lauzon
Tim Boetsch vs. Thales Leites
Thiago Alves vs. Jordan MeinPrelim Card
Miesha Tate def. Sara McMann via majority decision
Derek Brunson def. Ed Herman via TKO
John Lineker def. Ian McCall via unanimous decision
Rafael Natal def. Tom Watson via unanimous decisionFight Pass Prelims
Ildemar Alcantara def. Richardson Moreira via split-decision
Andy Enz def. Thiago “Marreta” Santos via TKO*Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes removed from card after Hettes fell ill.