Anderson Silva Next Fight Against Chris Weidman? With Surgically Repaired Leg, Silva Seeks to Avenge Loss
With a surgically repaired left leg, Anderson Silva is ready to fight again.
In an incident that still horrifies many mixed martial arts fans, the 39-year-old Silva suffered a broken fibula and tibia in his left leg during his Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight fight against Chris Weidman in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 28, 2013.
Nearly 10 months later, the Brazilian-born Silva said he has fully recovered and is aching to get back into the octagon to resume his fighting career. The former UFC middleweight champion will make a return at UFC 183 on Jan. 31, 2015 when he goes up against former Strikeforce world champion Nick Diaz.
But Silva, nicknamed the Spider, is already looking past that fight. In a recent interview, he said he will defeat Diaz and then make a strong push to get another middleweight title shot.
"I think about fighting for the title again, of course," Silva said via Bloody Elbow. "I have seven fights left in my contract and, if I have a chance to fight for the title again, I will fight."
Silva said if vying for the title means a third fight with Weidman, who beat him twice last year, so be it.
Silva's Jiu-Jitsu coach and bosom buddy Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira said the veteran fighter is recovering well from his injury. Nogueira said Diaz will be a tough opponent but has little chance to win against the even tougher Silva. He predicts a knockout win for Silva in their January bout. "Nick is ready for a five round fight and Anderson has to knock him out. Anderson will do it, I'm sure," Nogueira said.
Silva sounded less optimistic than his coach. He actually admitted that he is still haunted by the ghost of his gruesome injury last year and that he is still hesitating to kick using his surgically-repaired leg.
But Silva is expected to eventually regain his confidence in his leg before his bout against Diaz. "Anderson is in good condition," Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission medical director Marcio Tannure said in a recent interview.
"Obviously, a fracture like that brings a psychological problem, and only a training routine will make him comfortable again. But he is an amazing athlete and by the way he is training, I believe soon he will be 100 percent again," Tannure said.
Right after his second loss to Weidman, Silva had said that he wouldn't fight the "All American" again. He has obviously taken back his word and now wants to get back at his tormentor.
Silva also said Weidman didn't actually beat him in their fight last December. "I don't think Weidman should consider it a win," Silva told MMAFighting.com. "It was an accident and I'm pretty sure that I would have won the fight," he added.
Weidman, on the other hand, said he was absolutely sure that he won that fight against Silva. The champion said he didn't like that fact that Silva's leg got broken during the fight but he knew he handled the fight really well. "I was completely dominating the fight," Silva told MMAMania.com.
Asked on whether he would be willing to fight Silva for the third time, Weidman appeared hesitant. "It's a tough injury to come back from," he said. "I honestly would feel bad to fight him again," he added.
Weidman is set to put his title on the line against Vitor Belfort in February next year.