The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 183: “Silva vs Diaz.” The card was headlined by a middleweight bout between former long-time UFC champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and one-time Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz.

Also on the card tonight, Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley battled Kelvin Gastelum in the catchweight co-feature that was initially scheduled to be contested at 170 pounds. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon took on “Raging” Al Iaquinta in a lightweight fight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs Nick Diaz

Round 1:
Diaz taunted throughout the opening minute of the fight and even turned his back on Silva on one occasion. Silva landed a left hook and the fighters exchanged right hands in close. Diaz kicked at his lead leg and followed with a combination. He jabbed and connected with a left hook. Silva countered with a knee and a stiff jab of his own. The fighters traded leg kicks and looping punches over the top. Diaz closed out the round with a spinning back kick. 10-9 Diaz by a slim margin.

Round 2:
Little transpired in round two until Silva threw a one-two and a leg kick 75 seconds in. Diaz kicked away at Silva’s lead leg and Silva replied with kicks of his own. He easily stuffed a takedown attempt, but Diaz landed another leg kick and a left hand. Silva put together a combination of kicks and punches, followed by a standing back elbow that narrowly missed. A big kick to the body scored for Silva and Diaz finished the round by punching over the top in a clinch. 10-9 Silva.

Round 3:
Silva began round three with kick-punch combos and he followed with a head kick that was partially blocked. He picked up he pace with his punches and mixed in kicks to the leg and body. Diaz continued to target Silva’s lead leg with kicks, but Silva’s punches took their toll and Diaz began to bleed from beside the left eye. The fighters traded leg kicks and combinations, and Silva just missed with a spinning wheel kick. Diaz punched over the top and time expired soon after. 10-9 Silva.

Round 4:
Leg kicks were exchanged in the fourth round and both men landed quick flurries of punches. Silva targeted Diaz’s midsection and followed with punches while avoiding Diaz’s lunging hooks. Diaz ate another body kick, but landed four punches and elbows over the top as Silva clinched. Diaz taunted again and Silva responded with leg kicks. 10-9 Silva.

Round 5:
Silva landed quick punches in the final round as Diaz taunted him and tried to land counter rights. A left hook landed for Diaz, but Silva circled away. Diaz scored with punches over the top and kicked at Silva’s leg. Silva landed one of his best combinations of the fight and he jumped in with a flying knee that missed. A right hook landed for Silva and he attempted a spinning hook kick. Silva cut Diaz on the left cheek with more punches and he avoided Diaz’s kicks before the final bell. 10-9 Silva.

Winner: Anderson Silva by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 34-6-0.

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley vs Kelvin Gastelum

Round 1:
Woodley circled on the outside in the opening 90 seconds as Gastelum walked him down and looked to set up combinations. Both men landed punches in an exchange and Woodley backed Gastelum up with a one-two. More hard shots were exchanged and Gastelum kicked at Woodley’s lead leg. Quick right hands scored for Woodley, but the crowd loudly booed the lack of action as time expired. 10-10.

Round 2:
Time was called early in round two after Gastelum was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Woodley landed a nice body kick, but Gastelum responded with punches and a leg kick. Woodley hurt him with a right hook, but Gastelum recovered quickly. Power punches were exchanged and Woodley mixed things up with leg kicks. Another hard right hand stopped Gastelum in his tracks. Woodley continued to throw punches and Gastelum landed a liver kick. Woodley countered a kick with an overhand right and Gastelum clinched. 10-9 Woodley.

Round 3:
Gastelum pressured with punches in round three, but Woodley cut him beside the left eye with a counter right hand in close. Both men landed one-twos and Gastelum threw a knee to the body. A punch-kick combo landed for Gastelum and he began to take control of the striking exchanges. Woodley replied with an uppercut and a right hook. Gastelum continued to throw punches until Woodley clinched with him against the fence. The round ended with both men swinging wildly with hooks. 10-9 Gastelum, barely.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 15-3-0.

“Raging” Al Iaquinta vs Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon

Round 1:
Lauzon jabbed early on and Iaquinta just missed with an uppercut. Lauzon rocked him with a combination, but Iaquinta recovered and threw a head kick. He followed with a one-two and another head kick attempt. Iaquinta targeted the body with punches and a liver kick, which was answered by a flurry from Lauzon. More punch-kick combos landed for Iaquinta and both men connected with right hooks. Iaquinta threw a knee and Lauzon countered a takedown with a guillotine choke. The fighters stood and Iaquinta landed body shots and a head kick. 10-9 Iaquinta.

Round 2:
The second round began with another combination from Iaquinta, which prompted Lauzon to rush forward with lunging punches. Both men landed jabs and Iaquinta followed with an uppercut. He stuffed a takedown and stunned Lauzon with punches. More shots from Iaquinta dropped Lauzon on his face. Iaquinta punched on the ground, then allowed him to stand and continued to tee off. Lauzon could barely stand up and staggered around the cage as Iaquinta landed punches until the fight was finally waved off.

Winner: Al Iaquinta by TKO (Punches) at 3:34 of round two. He improves to 11-3-1.

Thales Leites vs Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch

Round 1:
Boetsch scored with a combination early in round one and time was called after he was poked in the eye. Action resumed and the fighters traded heavy shots. Leites rushed in with a flying knee and a flurry. He followed with leg kicks, but Boetsch snapped his head back with right hands. A looping left hook landed for Leites and he connected with a standing right elbow soon after. Boetsch stuffed a takedown and dropped Leites with punches in the final 30 seconds. Leites held on and Boetsch landed short strikes until the bell. 10-9 Boetsch due to the late knockdown.

Round 2:
Leites connected first with a lead left hook in round two, but Boetsch countered with a nice right hand and he backed him up with another one soon after. Both men threw power punches and Boetsch connected with a series of right hooks that wobbled Leites. He recovered and secured a much-needed takedown into mount. Leites locked on his signature arm-triangle choke, but Boetsch managed to escape. Leites mounted him again and secured another arm-triangle choke. Boetsch refused to submit and was choked unconscious.

Winner: Thales Leites by Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:45 of round two. He improves to 25-4-0.

Thiago “Pitbull” Alves vs Jordan “Young Gun” Mein

Round 1:
Mein landed some nice right hands in the opening minute and he followed with a chopping kick to Alves’s lead leg. Alves fired back with punches and Mein mixed in standing elbow strikes. He landed more quick punches and Alves replied with a leg kick. Mein flurried with punches and Alves retreated. The fighters traded punches and Alves landed a big left hook, but Mein responded with a barrage of punches including an uppercut that rocked Alves. More huge shots scored for Mein as the round came to a close. 10-9 Mein.

Round 2:
Mein somersaulted to avoid a punch from Alves in round two and returned to his feet. Alves landed a devastating kick to the body that dropped Mein to a knee. He rushed in with punches as Mein turtled and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Thiago Alves by TKO (Kick To The Body & Punches) at 0:39 of round two. He improves to 21-9-0.

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)