UFC 183 Results: Twitter Reacts to Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz Fight Card

Anderson Silva still has something left in the tank.

The 39-year-old former middleweight champion was triumphant in his return to the cage, beating Nick Diaz at UFC 183 on Saturday.

The bout headlined what was a strong card from top to bottom, one that will have UFC fans talking for the next few weeks.

UFC 183 Results

Twitter Reaction

In the first fight on the main card, Thiago Alves earned a second-round TKO victory over Jordan Mein. Mein started out the fight brilliantly and looked to be in firm control. Then, Alves landed a wicked kick in the second round, which was the prelude to Mein's demise.

Current UFC featherweight Scott Jorgensen tweeted that body kicks are no joke:

I can sympathize with mein body kicks will shut u down even if u been beating a dude up

— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) February 1, 2015

Alves went in for the kill at that point and wrapped up the victory.

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole was more than impressed with how the 31-year-old rebounded in such a short amount of time:

One of the most amazing turnarounds I've seen in a fight. Alves was outclassed in the first, and then one mean kick later, fight changed

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 1, 2015

Former UFC star Kenny Florian felt the match was a great advertisement for the sport:

This sport is ?????????????? bruh! Alves iron chin and veteran mentality got him the win. Amazing! BUT...Mein is a problem. #UFC183

— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 1, 2015

The second fight was nearly just as breathtaking, with Thales Leites submitting Tim Boetsch in the second round. Boetsch was clearly the better striker, landing 47 punches and 26 significant strikes, compared to 23 and 20, respectively, for Leites.

However, Leites was the better grappler, and once the fight went down to the mat, that was all she wrote for Boetsch.

Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter and Jonathan Snowden both noted that Leites' win came at a cost:

Leites has an awfully gross face right now. Left cheek looks horrible.

— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) February 1, 2015

Looks like Boetsch broke Leites' face.

— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) February 1, 2015

In the third fight, Al Iaquinta really went after Joe Lauzon, landing nearly twice as many punches by the time the fight was over. Iaquinta eventually silenced Lauzon three minutes and 34 seconds into the round.

Fox Sports 1's Brendon Ayanbadejo wondered if the fight should've ended a little earlier:

Lauzon just got destroyed by Iaquinta. I never call for a stoppage but the ref definitely let it go about 10 punches too long #UFC183

— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) February 1, 2015

Bleacher Report's Chad Dundas voiced his appreciation for Iaquinta's throwback look:

Great win for Al Iaquinta, who looks like a black-and-white snapshot of your grandpa, from back when he fought Golden Gloves.

— Chad Dundas (@chaddundas) February 1, 2015

The first fight to go the distance in the main card was Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Woodley won via a split decision, which was the fairest result. Woodley was the better fighter on the night, but Gastelum wasn't far behind and even out-hit Woodley 40-34.

The most notable aspect of the bout came in the post-match interview. Woodley stated his intention to decline the 30 percent of Gastelum's purse that he was owed after Gastelum failed to make weight.

"That's his money," Woodley said, per Iole. "He came in here and fought, and he got the loss. He's suffered enough already."

MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi and The Ultimate Fighter 7 champion Amir Sadollah couldn't praise Woodley enough for his attempted generosity:

Tyron Woodley should get Performance of the Night for his post-fight speech.

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) February 1, 2015

Woodley with one of the classier post fight speeches I've heard.

— Amir Sadollah (@amirMMA) February 1, 2015

Iole noted in his piece that UFC had already docked Gastelum the 30 percent, so the situation is a bit complicated.

Of course, everything built to Diaz and Anderson making their respective returns to the Octagon. According to ESPN's Max Bretos, the two combined to miss nearly three years of action:

Anderson Silva & Nick Diaz have a combined 35 months of inactivity inside the Octagon. I think they still both know their way around #UFC183

— Max Bretos (@mbretosESPN) February 1, 2015

In terms of spectacle, the fight more than lived up to the hype. Both combatants went right at one another, with neither Silva nor Diaz showing any ring rust.

Diaz was also playing to the crowd and antagonizing Silva much in the same way Silva has antagonized his opponents for years. Sportsnet's Brendan Dunlop was happy to see the shoe on the other foot Saturday:

I've never liked Nick Diaz. But Silva tried this crap for years. Funny to see him get agitated when it's done to him #UFC183

— Brendan Dunlop (@Brendan_Dunlop) February 1, 2015

In the end, though, Silva was simply too much, earning a unanimous-decision victory. Although the Brazilian was the clear winner, Snowden felt that some were getting a bit carried away with the adulation:

People pretending Anderson Silva dominated that fight are being silly.

— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) February 1, 2015

After the fight, an emotional Silva broke down inside the Octagon, per Daniel Harris of The Guardian:

Anderson Silva gets emotional pic.twitter.com/NPHBb30I43

— Daniel Harris (@DanielHarris) February 1, 2015

Although the main event was a bit one-sided, the whole of the card was pretty strong, giving fans at least three really good fights, depending on your perspective.

Now, the biggest question on everybody's mind is where Silva goes from here, especially after the injury to Chris Weidman.

With another win, The Spider might put himself in position for one more title shot.

Note: Fight stats are courtesy of UFC.com.