Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz will be making their returns to the octagon early next year in a highly-anticipated fight against each other, UFC boss Dana White announced.
White says Silva has received medical clearance to fight and is “100 percent healthy.”
The fight will take place Jan. 31 in Las Vegas and will be the main event. The event has not yet been named but could be UFC 183.
White shared a photo on Instagram of him with Silva confirming news of the fight:
“Lunch with the GOAT @spiderandersonsilva and just got the Diaz fight done!!!! #ufc #superfight” he wrote as the caption.
He says both fighters are excited for the fight.
Neither fighter has fought since 2013. Silva is coming off consecutive losses to Chris Weidman and recovering from a broken leg suffered in his last fight. He’ll be returning to the octagon after a 13-month layoff.
Diaz is also coming off consecutive losses. He lost to Carlos Condit in Feb. 2012 and GSP in March 2013. Often hard to deal with, Diaz was staying away from the UFC for what was believed to be disputes over how much he should be paid.
News of this fight should not come as a surprise; last month there were comments indicating both parties want the fight to happen.
Though the fight has two of the more exciting names in the sport, it’s not an ideal matchup. Diaz is well undersized compared to Silva, though he is one of the better fighters around.
