UFC 183 Preview
By Sportsbook.ag .
Event: UFC 183
Date: Saturday, January 31, 2015
TV/Time: (PPV, 10:00 p.m. ET)
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Middleweight Bout: Anderson Silva (33-6) vs. Nick Diaz (27-9-1)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Silva -400, Diaz +300
Saturday night marks the return of the greatest fighter in UFC history, as Anderson Silva comes back from injury to take on Nick Diaz at UFC 183.
For the first time since December 28, 2013, Anderson Silva will be back fighting in the octagon. In his last fight against Chris Weidman, Silva delivered a kick to Weidman, and the kick ended up shattering his leg. It has been a long recovery for Silva, but he appears to be 100% ready to go. He enters this fight on a two-fight losing streak, with both of those losses coming to Weidman. When Silva is healthy, he is the best fighter of all-time. His ability to win a match in many different ways makes him nearly impossible to plan for. He has an opportunity to show he is fully back, as he goes up against a guy who definitely is not scared to fight.
Like Silva, Diaz has lost his last two fights. Those two losses came to Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, but he has actually been out longer than Silva (last fight was against GSP, March 16, 2013). Part of the reason for Diaz being out is because Dana White and him have not always been on the same page when it comes to his contract. However, when he enters the octagon, he is one of the toughest fighters in the sport, and he is not afraid to throw punches with the best of them.
While Diaz will come into this fight ready to go, Silva will be out to prove that he deserves another title fight, which could be in store if he is able to win this match. Look for the fight to be close early, but in the end, Silva shows he still has some fight in him, and should get the victory.
Silva has 33 victories in his career, with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout. He also has seven wins by decision, and the other four coming by submission. What makes the 39-year old Brazilian so dangerous is his ability to deliver the kick. He does a great job of setting his opponents up, even leaving his hands down, baiting his opponent into getting away from his strategy.
When it comes to landing significant strikes, Diaz will have a big advantage (5.63 for Diaz, and 3.11 for Silva), but “Spider” is way more accurate when landing strikes (66% for Silva and 42% for Diaz). Silva’s ability to get his opponent off his game could be huge in this fight, as Diaz can get frustrated and become careless. For Silva, the mental part of this bout will be tough, as he can’t hesitate to do the things that made him the only guy to ever defend the belt 10 times. If he does not fight the way he has his whole career, Diaz could steal a huge win.
Diaz enters the main event with 27 victories in his career, with 13 of them coming by knockout. He also has eight wins by submission, with the other six coming by decision. The 31-year old from California has been a pro since 2001, and he will have an advantage when it comes to grappling (1.44 for Diaz, compared to 0.69 for Silva). Diaz has fought some of the best fighters in the UFC, and his ability to go out and compete has made him a fan favorite, making every fight entertaining. With questions about how Silva will come out, look for Diaz to do what he does best, and come out swinging early.
Other UFC 183 Bouts - Odds per Sportsbook.ag
Flyweight Matchup
Ian McCall -215
John Lineker +175
Middleweight Matchup
Derek Brunson -500
Ed Herman +375
Women's Bantamweight Matchup
Sara McMann -180
Miesha Tate +147
Welterweight Matchup
Thiago Alves -115
Jordan Mein -115
Lightweight Matchup
Al Iaquinta -190
Joe Lauzon +155
Welterweight Matchup
Tyron Woodley +105
Kelvin Gastelum -135
UFC 183 Odds and Picks
By: Hugh Citron
Sportingnews.com
LAS VEGAS -- UFC 183 comes to us Saturday night from Las Vegas with a huge fight in the middleweight division between No. 1 contender Anderson "The Spider" Silva and veteran Nick Diaz. Silva is arguably one of the greatest fighters in MMA history and is a -450 favorite to get back to his winning ways after losing his last two fights to current middleweight champion Chris Weidman. The underdog, Nick Diaz, gets odds of about +325 on the takeback.
Silva (33-6) won the middleweight title back in 2006, stopping Rich Franklin in the first round. He would stay undefeated until his first fight with Weidman in 2013. In an attempt for redemption, "The Spider" was given a rematch with Weidman in 2013 only to lose in the second round when Weidman checked a leg kick, breaking Silva's fibula and tibia, forcing a stop to the fight.
Diaz (26-9) should be a great opponent to get Silva back on track. Like Silva, Diaz loves to keep the fight standing and throw punches.
The big difference between the two is that Silva's boxing is much more effective and powerful; Diaz likes to keep the pressure on with flurries of punches but lacks in overall power.
Diaz hasn't fought in almost two years, and his last two fights were losses. Back in 2012, he lost a close unanimous decision to Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title in a fight that could have gone either way. His last outing was a title shot against then-champion Georges St-Pierre in March of 2013, and Diaz was thoroughly dominated from start to finish and lost a unanimous decision.
Even though Diaz has a long gap between fights, stamina won't be an issue -- he has always had tremendous cardio and rarely gets tired despite usually keeping a frantic pace. The biggest problem for Diaz is his stand-up tends to be very sloppy and careless, making him an easy target to hit for a skilled striker like Silva.
There's always a hesitation when laying a big number in an MMA fight, but this is a great spot for Silva to bring out all his great skills with little fear of the takedown, similar to when he faced Weidman. This line will go higher by fight night, possibly reaching -600 by the time the opening bell rings.
I would love to play the dog at a nice price, but just can't see many ways Diaz can get his hand raised, unless the great Silva, at 39, no longer has the ability he once had. I like Silva to beat Diaz Saturday night, stopping him in the later rounds.
Undercard
On the undercard, undefeated Kelvin Gastelum (10-0) is a small -120 favorite against Tyron Woodley (14-3) in another welterweight fight. Gastelum, ranked seventh in the division, is a star on the rise and should take a big step forward with a win here over third-ranked Woodley. Lay the small price with Gastelum.
The card also includes a big fight in the women's bantamweight division between second-ranked Miesha Tate (15-5) and third-ranked Sara McMann (8-1). McMann opened as a -160 favorite and has been bet up to -210. I usually respect the early money moves in MMA fights, but I don't see this one that way. Tate is the better fighter and has done better in big fights. Take Miesha Tate as the underdog to upset Sara McMann.
UFC 183 Fight Preview
MMAOddsbreaker.com
The main event of UFC 183 is a five-round middleweight bout between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz.
Silva (33-6) is one of the all-time greats in the sport of mixed martial arts. The 39-year-old Brazilian is 16-2 in the UFC with wins over the likes of Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Demian Maia, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin, and his only two losses in the UFC have come to Chris Weidman in his last two bouts.
In the first Weidman fight at UFC 162, Silva was doing well but he started to clown around and drop his hands and he paid for it with a knockout loss. Then in the rematch at UFC 168, he threw a sloppy low kick that Weidman blocked and Silva broke his leg. He hasn’t fought since then, so he enters this fight on a 13-month layoff, the longest of his UFC career by far. He will be facing numerous questions entering this fight, namely how is his chin, how is his leg, and how is he mentally? If he is OK mentally and physically, he should roll in this matchup, because he will have a huge size advantage over Diaz and also an edge in the power department.
Silva had 20 career T/KO wins and with his power and accuracy — in all of his limbs — he can finish anyone in the sport, even someone with an iron chin like Diaz. This is a fight that will likely take place on the feet and if Silva can connect on Diaz’ chin, he will likely win by T/KO. He just needs to be careful because if he leaves his hands down and gets caught again he could get knocked out himself, and that’s the risk betting on him here.
Diaz (26-9, 1 NC) is returning to the Octagon after a 22-month layoff. He is overall 7-6 in the Octagon including a 1-2 record in his most recent stint in the promotion with his lone recent win coming over BJ Penn and his recent losses coming to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit.
The 31-year-old American is dangerous everywhere, with an excellent high-volume boxing attack on the feet and a slick BJJ game on the ground. He has knockout power in his hands (13 career T/KO wins) and he is so good on the mat too (eight career submission wins). He has a great chin and hasn’t been knocked out in 13 years, and his cardio is some of the best in the business, making him a dangerous opponent for most fighters in the division.
This is a tough matchup for him, though. He will be at a size and reach disadvantage, and he hasn’t fought in nearly two years. He is catching Silva at a good time in his career as “The Spider” has never been more vulnerable, but this is a very difficult matchup on paper for Diaz and unless he is able to connect with Silva’s chin, he is going to have a very difficult time getting his hand raised here, and that’s why he is such a big underdog going into this fight.
At first I thought Diaz might have had some value as the dog, but the more I thought about this fight the more I think Silva wins in devastating fashion. Obviously the layoff and the leg injury are huge concerns, as is the state of Silva’s chin, but if he’s healthy he should win this fight easily. Don’t forget, Diaz is coming off of an even longer layoff and the last time he fought he looked terrible and uninspired. Silva will have a huge size advantage in this fight and he’ll also have an advantage in striking and wrestling, while submissions are relatively close.
But I don’t expect this fight to go on the mat anyways. I think it stays standing, and I think we see a vintage Silva performance. Diaz hasn’t been knocked out in over a decade, but he hasn’t fought a striker with the accuracy and power of Silva in a long time. I think Silva can find Diaz’ chin and finish him in this fight for a statement win that earns him another shot at the UFC middleweight title. The line is high at -470, but Silva is a likely winner and I can’t fault anyone for playing him, even at this price.