UFC 183 is over with, and Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz gave the fans what they paid for.
"The Spider" reared back. He ducked, he weaved, he counter-punched. Stockton's native son taunted. He pressed forward, winged punches and showed no respect to one of MMA's scariest figures.
As many expected, Silva's elusiveness and counter-punching proved to be the difference. While Silva absorbed some strikes, he landed his long, heavy punches and sliced up the left side of Diaz's face. That translated to a 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 unanimous decision win.
All in all, there were many takeaways from this fight.
Above all else, Nick Diaz showed the world that he is still Nick Diaz. That is a glorious thing. The build-up to the fight was markedly un-Diaz-like, as he was disappointingly respectful to the longtime middleweight champion. Keep in mind, this is a man who went forehead-to-forehead with BJ Penn and called Georges St-Pierre all kinds of nasty things ahead of their fight. Him entering the cage as something other than the passionate, hot-headed slugger fans love would have been a tragedy.
But when the door closed and the only thing standing between him and a bonus check were a referee and a 39-year-old Brazilian, he was every bit the unhinged kook he was in 2011. Even with the loss, his stock remains the same. He is Nick Diaz, and Nick Diaz is one of the biggest draws in the sport.
That, however, was not the case with Anderson Silva.
The Spider has always entered the cage with a one-of-a-kind swagger. His hands-down, chin-out taunting is a deceptively important part of his overall game. While UFC commentator Joe Rogan was quick to blame Silva's first loss to Chris Weidman on his "clowning," there is no denying its role in his wins over Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort.
The Silva who fought Diaz on Saturday, however, did not have that deserved cockiness that made him such a compelling figure in the cage. His hands, almost always by his chin. His stance, a generic southpaw. His striking arsenal, disappointingly limited to punches and ineffectual spinning kicks.
The Silva in the cage only vaguely resembled the one who almost literally danced circles around Demian Maia and brutalized Yushin Okami with an impressive, audacious swagger.
So what did we learn from tonight's main event? Nick Diaz's days in the sport, and likely his days among welterweight elite, are not over.
Anderson Silva, though? He's just good...but very clearly not as good as he once was.
