Anderson Silva Returns At UFC 183 With His Broken Leg Healed

GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) - Gabriel Silva is a promising young boxer, and that doesn't please his famous father one bit.

Even while sitting amid speed bags, wrestling mats and mixed martial arts cages in his impressive gym in the Los Angeles suburbs, Anderson Silva can't stomach the thought of his son getting hit. "This is bad for my heart," Silva said with a laugh. "I talked to Gabriel: 'Why do you go fight boxing?' He said to me, 'Why do you go fight MMA?' My heart, oh my God. I say, 'Go play soccer. It's easier, more money.' But this is his dream."

Silva had every right and reason to take his own advice 13 months ago. The Brazilian fighter who made 10 straight title defenses during seven years as the UFC's dominant middleweight champion ended 2013 on his back in the MGM Grand Garden octagon, his lower left leg grotesquely shattered from his kick to new champion Chris Weidman's knee.

Yet after roughly nine months of recovery and three more months of training, the 39-year-old Silva will step back into that same octagon in Las Vegas to keep fighting Saturday against Nick Diaz in the pay-per-view main event at UFC 183.

The fighter known as the Spider is already widely considered the greatest competitor in his sport's history, yet he wants and needs more.

Although Silva says the belt no longer motivates him, UFC President Dana White has said a win over the always-entertaining Diaz would likely land Silva another title shot against Weidman or Vitor Belfort, who meet next month in Los Angeles.

"When I broke my leg, the first thing I said is, 'I need to go back,'" Silva said. Indeed, Silva began asking his medical team how quickly he could return to training while he was still in the hospital waiting for surgery on his broken leg. When he was finally cleared to work on his punishing sport, he worried his leg wouldn't have the strength to kick with the brutality necessary to win in the UFC.

But he did it anyway, gradually rebuilding his form in his own gym. His video-game athleticism and topflight boxing skill gradually re-emerged, persuading the UFC to keep Silva in contention. "When I start three months ago, my focus is my leg, to get strong, more powerful," Silva said. "Now when I train for the fight, it's normal. It's the same kick, the same training. It's all normal."

Silva's camp says he looks dangerous in training, and he moves with his usual grace whenever the public can see him. He said his challenge has been mostly "mental, because when I start the training for balance, my leg (did) not have power," he added. "When I not have power, I'm scared. But now, everything is good."

Silva readily acknowledges the hypocrisy in his determination to fight and his distaste for his sons' growing interest in physical sports. After all, the discrepancy has already been pointed out to him by another son, Kalyl.

"When I go to fight, Kalyl says, 'Dad, stop,'" Silva said. "'You don't need more of this. You fight for a long time. Why?' I say, 'Because this is me.' This is my life. I love fighting. I don't fight for money. I fight for the UFC for a long time. I have money for my family. But I fight because I love it."

Although he has a comfortable life with his wife and five children in their homes in Brazil and Los Angeles' South Bay suburbs, Silva sees his meeting with Diaz as "my first fight in the UFC." No matter the result, he intends to keep training and fighting into his 40s, focused on goals that only he can see. And if he gets another shot at the middleweight title, he'll take it.

"The last time I got the belt, I (kept) it for seven years," Silva said. "Now, I'm working for the UFC. The UFC is my family. After Nick, I'll go and train for my next fight. I don't know if I'll have another chance for the belt, but Dana gives me the chance for the belt, I go fight. I don't know."

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.