Why Anderson Silva has much to prove at UFC 183

LAS VEGAS – The last time Anderson Silva was in these parts, he had snapped his lower leg in shocking, gruesome fashion.

As he shrieked in agony and emergency personnel gently lifted him onto a stretcher, it didn't take much to quickly come to the conclusion that Silva's legendary career might be coming to an abrupt and unexpected end.

On Wednesday, a little more than two months from his 40th birthday, Silva was back, entertaining a packed crowd at the MGM Grand in an intense and nearly hour-long public workout.

His opponent in the main event of UFC 183 on Saturday, Nick Diaz, predictably skipped the proceedings, which couldn't have helped the already slow ticket sales.

Diaz finally showed up in Las Vegas late Wednesday afternoon after his luggage arrived on a flight from Sacramento, Calif., earlier in the day without him.

Silva graciously answered questions and did his best to compensate for the mercurial Diaz's unexplained and inexplicable absence.

What Silva is doing is remarkable by any standard, but it's especially hard to believe from a soon-to-be 40-year-old. His recovery from his broken leg against Chris Weidman at UFC 168 on Dec. 28, 2013, was way ahead of schedule and wholly unexpected.

He's talked of fulfilling a contract that will take him years to complete, and he'll get a chance to fight for the middleweight title he so proudly owned for more than six years if he defeats Diaz.

Silva refuses to talk about the injury, saying repeatedly that it's in the past and he wants to talk about the present.

He said he's fully recovered and has improved his physical skills, as hard as that might be to believe.

"I'm faster, stronger and happier," Silva said on a conference call. "And UFC is giving me one more chance to show my job and what I can do inside the Octagon. I go to work. [I’m going] to show you, for my fans … my talent."

From the moment Silva arrived in the UFC nearly nine years ago, he's been dominant: Silva's 14 finishes are the most in UFC history, as are his 17 knockdowns.

He's tied with Vitor Belfort for most knockouts in UFC history, with 11, and his accuracy on significant strike attempts is 67.2 percent.

He's never landed less than 50 percent of his significant strike attempts in any of his 18 UFC bouts.

Yet, one has to wonder if he's whistling past the graveyard in a way. He's better than a 4-1 favorite and figures to have the support of the crowd as he makes what he believes will be a triumphant return.

Diaz was routed the last time out by Georges St-Pierre in a welterweight title fight in 2013. But Silva doesn't have the wrestling skills that St-Pierre does, and so it's unlikely that he'll dump Diaz on his back.

Diaz isn't a particularly powerful puncher, but his work rate is remarkable and his conditioning is always first-rate. This is a guy whose hobby is to run triathlons.

He's going to jab, and jab, and jab, and occasionally flick that right hand. He doesn't often hurt anyone with a single, powerful blow, but it's like death by a thousand cuts. He doesn't stop coming, or punching. His 1,302 significant strikes landed are the most in UFC/Pride/Strikeforce/WEC history. Diaz will keep relentlessly moving forward and force Silva to fight.

That's the kind of opponent Silva has long dreamed of facing. He's a counterpuncher and is masterful at getting an opponent to overextend and open himself for what is often a fight-finishing combination.

When Weidman wouldn't lead and instead patiently waited, Silva taunted him at UFC 162 by sticking out his chin with his hands at his side in a vain and misguided attempt to get Weidman to attack.

When Silva did it once too often, Weidman caught him on the chin and ended Silva’s 2,457-day reign as UFC middleweight champion.

Diaz doesn't pose the same problems for Silva that Weidman did. He's not nearly as big, and he doesn't have the punching power or the wrestling ability that Weidman does.

But the longer the fight goes, the more it would seem to favor Diaz. Silva is respectful of Diaz, but clearly confident.

"When I finish the fight with Nick, [after] I win, I will prepare for the next level," Silva said. "But now, I'm [preparing like I'm] starting my career in the UFC. This is my first fight in the UFC in my mind."

He can think that, but at his age and after a lengthy recovery, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that if Silva doesn't finish Diaz early – and Diaz has only been stopped twice in 36 fights – he could have trouble down the stretch.

Diaz is going to be there in the latter rounds. He has proven that. He absorbed a ton of early punishment from St-Pierre, who had him in all sorts of difficult positions, but couldn't finish him.

It's not unreasonable to wonder if Silva's timing might be off as well, given the long layoff. Though Silva has been training for months, this is his first fight since the injury and the mind can play tricks on anyone, even a sport's all-time great.

It's fair to consider whether Silva will have the full confidence in his leg to throw kicks, and whether his leg will be able to sustain the force if he does throw.

Silva's return from a nauseatingly gruesome injury is one of sport's most remarkable stories, even though it may be getting lost in an avalanche of Super Bowl hype.

It's building toward a fairy tale ending, with the old hero returning to the scene of his most horrifying loss to reclaim his position as one of the sport's greats.

But Silva is almost 40 years old. And this is real life, not a fairy tale.

Many fans are coming expecting a coronation, eager to see the king reclaim his throne.

Nobody, though, has returned from the kind of injury Silva suffered to be the same or better.

It's been years since it's applied to him, but Anderson Silva has a lot to prove on Saturday.