With all apologies to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, the most anticipated UFC fight of the new year is almost certainly Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz as both fighters make long overdue returns to the Octagon.
Their match on January 31 will mark Silva’s fight fight since UFC 168 in 2013 when he snapped his leg against current middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman.
Diaz returns to the ring after a self-imposed retirement. The former Strikeforce champion has only fought for a UFC title two times in his career.
I’m pretty pumped for that fight,” Dana White told MMAjunkie. “Anderson, I can’t wait until he comes back. He’s one of my favorite fighters. And you know Nick Diaz. He’s exciting, and that’s the fight Nick wanted. That’s the fight the fans wanted to see. So we did it.”
In his interview with MMAJunkie, the UFC President said that the entire title landscape could change after the fight.
“Anderson’s ranked No. 1 in the world right now at 185,” White said. “So obviously, Diaz, who is a 170-pounder, if he beats Anderson, it would be a pretty big statement for him. We’ll see what the (title) landscape looks like when that fight happens.”
