Anderson Silva's emotional return caps vital January for UFC

When Anderson Silva dropped to the mat and sobbed after hearing his name announced as the winner of the UFC 183 main event Nick Diaz on Saturday night, it wasn't just the end of one of sports' most remarkable comeback stories.

It was also the end of the month in which the UFC regained its mojo.

After a difficult 2014, in which the promotion endured a large wave of fight fallouts and injuries, at a time in which it also expanded its schedule, the company doubled down on a top-heavy start to 2015.

A quick recap of what's gone down over the past four weeks: Jon Jones retained his UFC light heavyweight title in a grudge match against Daniel Cormier; Conor McGregor cemented his superstar status in a victory over Dennis Siver; Anthony "Rumble" Johnson earned a title shot against Jones with a demolition of Alexander Gustafsson; and Silva was triumphant in his return from a gruesome leg injury.

Had anything in the UFC's big four events veered off-course, the UFC could have found itself right back where it spent 2014. Instead, the company was delivered its biggest pay-per-view buy rate in more than a year; the biggest MMA audience on basic cable in five years; the second-largest live attendance in company history and the most-watched network TV MMA fight in two years.

Even the things which didn't quite go according to plan ended up with the UFC doing the equivalent of a cat falling out of a tree and landing on its feet. Like when Eddie Alvarez had to pull out of his Jan. 18 co-main event with Ben Henderson, and the popular "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone rode to the rescue, defeating Henderson as a fill-in just 15 days after winning a fight at UFC 182.

Without further ado, then, a look at what each January event meant for the UFC, and how they push the ball forward:

UFC 182, Las Vegas, Jan. 3: This was basically the equivalent of a boxing pay-per-view, a one-fight card with all the hype on the main event. Fortunately for the UFC, the big bout delivered. Early estimates on UFC 182's PPV buy rates came in at 750,000-820,000, which means that several hundred thousand people who tuned out in 2014 checked back in. Had Jones vs. Cormier not lived up to the hype, those fans wouldn't have returned again any time soon. Instead, Jones pulled away from Cormier over the championship rounds after neck-and-neck performances over the first three. The bout played out in such a manner that Jones firmed himself up as a top-tier draw and Cormier gained popularity even in defeat.

UFC Fight Night 59, Boston, Jan. 18: After an unprecedented amount of hype, which included ample mention on that afternoon's FOX broadcast of the NFC championship game, a McGregor loss to Siver would have been an unmitigated disaster. Instead, McGregor once again delivered the goods, showing himself to be a fearsome and inventive striker in a second-round TKO. In the process, McGregor set up one of the biggest fights of the year, when he challenges Jose Aldo for the featherweight title on July 11 in Las Vegas. The 3,162,000 viewers who tuned in late on a Sunday night to watch McGregor-Siver marked the largest basic cable TV audience since Kimbo Slice fought Houston Alexander in Dec. 2009.

UFC on FOX 13, Stockholm, Jan. 24: This, quite simply, was supposed to be Gustafsson's showcase. Not only did the second-largest crowd in UFC history show up to watch their local hero participate in a bout which started at 3:45 a.m. local time – attendance has been stated as both 26,000 and 30,000 at various times by the UFC, either of which would clock in at No. 2 – but a live U.S. network television audience was going to see Gustafsson do his thing. This would set up a rematch of Gustafsson's epic 2013 encounter with Jones, in which Gustafsson pushed Jones like never before in a decision loss. Problem is, Johnson was having none of this. Johnson thoroughly dismantled Gustafsson, to the point that even though the UFC's rematch plans were ruined, Johnson emerged as a fresh, new challenger to Jones' throne. Viewership for Johnson's first-round TKO was estimated at 3.65 million – the largest UFC on FOX audience in two years.

UFC 183, Las Vegas, Jan. 31: While this card did less to move things forward than the rest of January's events, it still provided a poetic closure. The storm clouds that hung over the UFC in 2014 had gathered in late 2013. That's when the company lost its two top draws, Silva and Georges St-Pierre, on back-to-back events. By not just returning to the Octagon, but also returning in the very same spot in the very same arena in which he was stretchered out after his UFC 168 loss to Chris Weidman, Silva enabled the UFC to slam the door on one of the tougher periods in its history. And while he's not likely to challenge for another championship, Silva demonstrated that if he chooses to return, there's plenty of value left in the right "fun fights" with the right opponents.

Of course, the month wasn't perfect. There was the news that Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites in a pre-fight drug test, a situation that was handled messily by both Jones' inner circle and the UFC. And there are hints that the long-term problems which bit the UFC in 2014 aren't entirely under control: Just Friday, it was announced Weidman had to pull out of his UFC 184 title fight with Vitor Belfort in Los Angeles.

But at this point, only the most tiresome trolls will deny the UFC's January was a tremendous success, both in delivering the good and in creating new stars and future matchups. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the UFC's demise were greatly exaggerated.

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: @DaveDoyleMMA