Anderson Silva’s future remains unclear. | Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC/Zuffa/Getty
LAS VEGAS -- Anderson Silva’s return to the Octagon at UFC 183 on Saturday was supposed to answer a slew of questions about one of the best fighters of all-time. However, his post-fight interview created a much more significant question: Is “The Spider” done?
You could see the emotions flowing from Silva’s body as the decision was read in his favor. He fell back on the mat and sobbed, relief and satisfaction clearly visible. I’m no psychologist, but I’m not afraid to play one on the Internet. To me, Silva looked like a man who wanted to erase a painful memory hanging over his hall-of-fame career like a black cloud. As a proud champion, it would have been a tough leave the sport on a stretcher, his left leg snapped like a twig following his second loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 168. Had he not returned, the video of Silva lying on the Octagon mat screaming and clutching his leg in pain would have been the last memory on an otherwise spectacular resume.
Related » By the Numbers: UFC 183
Silva can now exit the stage with a victory, the demons of his broken leg exorcised. He can spend his days with his family and ride off into the sunset, his bags stuffed with cash from his prosperous run in the UFC.
“Beep, beep, beep, beep ...” What’s that sound, you ask? Oh, just UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta backing up the Brinks truck in Silva’s driveway. At a time when pay-per-view draws are at an all-time premium, UFC brass will not let Silva slip away quietly. His resolve to hang up the mitts will be tested if that is the decision he ultimately makes. I think he should. Silva will be 40 years old in April; he has nothing left to prove or accomplish; and he has become a wealthy man while plying his trade over the past decade or so. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, my man. You’ve earned it. If this is the end, all I can do is say thank you, Anderson, for all the memorable moments. I wish you nothing but the best.
Moving on, how about Diaz going full Diaz in the post-fight interview? I would question his stated belief that he won every round, but this is Diaz we’re talking about here. You know, the guy who briefly stretched out on the canvas during a fight with “The Spider.” Yeah, that guy. Here’s hoping Diaz blows through all of his cash from this fight and has to come back again, because I don’t want to live in an MMA world where there is no Nick Diaz.
* * *
CLOSE CALL: Whew, that was close. Kelvin Gastelum was one judge away from proving that being unprofessional and disrespecting your opponent and the fans that pay to watch you fight pays off.
After missing weight by 10 pounds, Gastelum went out and fought like a guy who wasn’t really in top shape, losing a split decision to Tyron Woodley in the co-main event. He should be heading to 185 pounds after another rough weight cut, but that is going to be an entirely different challenge for him. Gastelum really doesn’t have the frame to be a high-level middleweight. When you have a guy at the top like Weidman, who makes some heavyweights look small, it becomes an uphill battle at best for “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner.
What Gastelum needs to do is figure out how to be a professional and get his weight down earlier in camp so he can make weight without making himself sick. Whether matchmaker Joe Silva and the UFC give him the opportunity to do so seems very unlikely at this point.
And then we have Woodley. I don’t even know what to say. This guy has an amazing skill set and every athletic tool in the bag, but he seems to find a way to sabotage himself just when everyone thinks he is about to put it all together. He had every advantage going into the fight with Gastelum and Woodley still found a way to turn the fans against him.
I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt with all the distractions around this fight, but if he is going to take the next step and become that top 3-type guy he really should be, it is incumbent upon him to do more than just enough to get past his opponents. I still believe Woodley will fight for a title at some point, but his style makes it hard for people to get behind him.
* * *
SECOND BANANA: Miesha Tate enjoyed a great come-from-behind win over Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann. Tate swung the momentum in her favor late in the second frame and out-scrambled McMann in the third to take a dominant position she would not relinquish.
That’s the good news for Tate. The bad news: Ronda Rousey is still hanging out atop the women’s bantamweight heap. Until she flees for Hollywood, Tate is going to have to be content with being number two. She has some pretty distinguished second banana company in Joseph Benavidez, Junior dos Santos and Chad Mendes, all of whom find themselves in similar situations across the UFC roster.
* * *
WEIGHT LOSS: John Lineker just does not get it. The much-ballyhooed former flyweight prospect not only missed weight for his clash with Ian McCall but apparently didn’t even try to make it. As I mentioned on the Sirius XM pre-fight show, Lineker informed the UFC that he was still three pounds over when he arrived for the weigh-ins on Friday and then proceeded to sit down and wait to be called to the scales. When his managers were asked why he was not trying to get on weight, they said he had decided to just pay the fine.
Needless to say, this did not endear him to the powers that be with Zuffa. I’m sure his little belly-rub celebration after winning a hard-fought decision over a fighter who completed his weight cut won’t help his case going forward, either. It’s hard to imagine that Lineker -- who has had cardio issues in the past -- would have been as fresh later in the fight if he had been forced to make 126 pounds.
Thankfully, this should be his last scheduled flyweight fight. UFC President Dana White stated that Lineker will be moving to 135 pounds going forward.
Honestly, I know it would not be a popular stand to take, but I would like to see fighters refuse to face opponents who are serial weight offenders. The biggest hurdle to this ever happening is the fact that the fighter refusing to fight would not get his or her paycheck. Add the pressure from promoters to still fight, and it is just not feasible to expect this to happen very often, if at all.
Greg Savage is the executive editor of Sherdog.com and can be reached via email or on Twitter @TheSavageTruth.