It really happened last weekend (July 6, 2013). Middleweight champion Anderson Silva's increadible 16-fight UFC unbeaten streak was snapped in the main event of UFC 162.
Afterwards, Silva had an awkward post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan inside the Octagon, claiming he didn't want to fight for the title again.
We all know Dana White is going to throw as much money at "The Spider" as possible to make sure that fight happens, but what if the talented Brazilian is serious?
If he is, and he still plans on finishing out that 10 fight contract, Joe Silva is going to have his work cut out for him trying to find interesting fights for the former middleweight king.
Let's make his job a bit easier. Why not Nick Diaz?
The former Strikeforce welterweight champion has been calling for a fight against Silva for months now. Both men are coming off title fight losses and Diaz has no problem moving up in weight. He battled Scott Smith and Frank Shamrock at 180 pounds back in 2009.
Below are five reasons why Silva vs Diaz is the fight to make.
1. This is exactly the big type of fight to draw Nick Diaz out of "retirement"
Diaz "retired" from mixed marital arts (MMA) competition after losing his second straight title fight at UFC 158 earlier this year. He spent a significant amount of time on his back due to champion Georges St. Pierre's wrestling and then called it quits following the post-fight press conference. While Dana White has said Diaz is getting the urge to fight again, the Stockton slugger has already gone on record saying that the only fights that would draw him out of his self-imposed sabbatical would be a rematch against GSP or a bout against Anderson Silva. St. Pierre is off the table now that his title defense against Johny Hendricks is official, but Silva is completely free and clear.
2. It won't affect the other divisions negatively, especially if SIlva's serious about not wanting to fight for the title.
Anderson Silva said in his post-fight speech that he was done fighting for titles, was tired, wanted to be with his family, but he still would compete his 10 fight contract. If that's the case, you need to find fights for Silva that won't impact the other divisions. It would be unfair to repeatedly throw Silva in there against the top middleweight contenders because up until this past weekend, he was dropping the top 185-ers in the world like flies. Diaz isn't doing anything at welterweight either and the division is moving on just fine without him. Both men are potentially in "Nowhereville" at the moment so why not?
3. Can you imagine the mid-fight taunting?
We've seen Nick Diaz drop his hands to his sides, call his opponent a bitch and even slap them in the face mid-fight. Before Weidman turned his lights out, Andeson Silva was putting on quite the display of taunting himself, hands on hips, motioning for Weidman to bring it, feigning being hurt, dancing and much much more. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if both men were thrown into the cage together? We've never seen either fighter really taunted at back but that certainly seems like it could be the case here and the possibilities are fascinating.
4. No wrestlers
I'm not saying wrestling is bad in MMA, not by a landslide. Don't think that's the point I'm trying to make here. What I'm saying is that powerful wrestling is the Kryptonite of both Silva and Diaz. Diaz couldn't handle GSP's constant takedowns and Silva has been in the most trouble in his career by the likes of Sonnen and Weidman, both powerful and technical wrestlers. Neither Diaz or Silva would initiate takedowns and that would mean we'd be practically guaranteed to see a slugfest on the feet, which is where both men feel most at home when they're competing inside the Octagon.
5. Diaz won't be scared, homie.
How many times do we hear about Silva's opponents being mentally defeated before they ever even step into the cage? Fighters change their style, make kooky gameplans and outright don't take the same risks when they step into the Octagon against "The Spider." Now try to picture this, when was the last time Nick Diaz was scared of anything? He's seen shit. The man lives for a fair fight where he can slug it out with someone and who better to slug it out with than the greatest of all time?
Yes, I know what you're thinking, Silva might destroy Diaz. Who cares? Both men have huge and passionate fanbases and we have no idea how Silva is going to respond to being knocked out cold for the first time in his career. This is exactly the type of fight that could ignite both fanbases.
What do you think?