UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz was live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 31, 2015.
Typically, the UFC tries to do something special for its Super Bowl weekend card and this year they did just that. UFC 183 was the first UFC pay-per-view where a title would not be defended since UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson back in June of 2013, but the fans would not be disappointed with the main event. The main event was a 5-round middleweight bout between one of the greatest fighters of all time in Anderson Silva and a fighter with one of the most dedicated followings in all of MMA in Nick Diaz.
Check out our biggest winners and losers from UFC 183 below.
Winners:
Anderson Silva:
Anderson Silva made his long awaited return to the octagon at UFC 183 against the controversial Nick Diaz. Silva looked to get back in the win column for the first time in more than two years. Just like every Nick Diaz fight, there was loads of taunting and talking which Silva was unaffected by. Silva was able to take home the unanimous decision victory. It was by no means his best performance, but nonetheless it was great to see one of the greatest of all time come out of the octagon victorious once again. Whether he continues to fight or not his legacy will live on.
Al Iaquinta:
Al Iaquinta was set to take on the biggest name of his career as he took on fan favorite Joe Lauzon. Iaquinta was coming off the biggest win of his career against Ross Pearson and was looking to extend his win streak to three and move further up the rankings. In a fight that did not let the fans down, the ‘TUF 15’ alum looked spectacular once again and picked up the TKO victory at 3:34 of Round 2. The Serra-Longo Fight Team lightweight has improved drastically over the past few years and is ready to face a top 15 ranked opponent.
Miesha Tate:
Miesha Tate was looking to win her third straight fight against Sara McMann at UFC 183. Tate came in as the underdog and the beginning of the fight would not go her way. After being dominated for the entirety of the first round, Tate was able to bounce back. Tate was surprisingly able to control the majority of the grappling exchanges and almost finished the fight with a very tight guillotine in the second round. Ultimately, ‘Cupcake’ was able to take home the majority decision. Tate has now won three straight and continues to remain one of the best women’s bantamweights on the planet.
Losers:
Kelvin Gastelum:
Kelvin Gastelum quite frankly made a joke of himself. Gastelum has had trouble making the welterweight limit in the past, but nothing was as bad as this attempt. Gastelum came in at an unheard of nine pounds over the weight limit. Not only did the 23-year-old miss weight terribly, but he also put on a lackluster performance and suffered the first loss of his MMA career. The ‘TUF 17’ alum has all the potential in the world, but it looks like it will have to take place in the middleweight division.
Ian McCall:
Ian McCall was set to take on one of the hardest hitters in the flyweight division at UFC 183 as he took on John Lineker. Lineker missed weight and it seemed to light a fire under McCall. With no clear title challenger, it was likely that a win would get McCall another crack at the UFC Flyweight Championship. ‘Uncle Creepy’ dominated the first round, but dropped the last two and ultimately lost via unanimous decision. The flyweight division is rather shallow so McCall is not too far away from challenging Demetrious Johnson once again, but it was certainly not the outcome he was hoping for.
John Lineker:
For the first time ever, a winner has made it on the list of the biggest losers. John Lineker missed weight for a UFC record fourth time. Not only did he miss weight, but also made a joke of it as he rubbed his stomach towards the end of the fight against Ian McCall. Had he made weight, Lineker would be challenging for the title, but now he is forced to move up a weight class. Once again Lineker’s great performance is outshined by his inability to make weight. Just like Gastelum, the 25-year-old Lineker has all the potential in the world, but has to be more professional and take things more seriously.
