Who will Anderson Silva fight first?
![Anderson Silva practices in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZmVmNmNkOGUtYTA5Mi00%3AOGUtYTA5Mi00YWNkZmJi%2Fanderson-silva-cropped.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Anderson Silva practices in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during UFC 153 open workouts. (Oct. 10, 2012) Credit: Getty
Anderson Silva will likely return to the octagon at some point in 2015. Nick Diaz hasn't been inside the octagon since 2013.
Still, Diaz wants to fight Silva.
Fans get silly when talk of Silva vs. Diaz pops up.
Does this fight make any sense, though? On one side, you've got Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion coming back from a broken leg in his rematch against Chris Weidman last December. On the other side, you've got Diaz, who voluntarily retired after losing to an interim title fight against Carlos Condit on Feb. 4, 2012, then miraculously came out of retirement to challenge Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title on March 16, 2013, only to lose and retire again.
So, again, does Silva vs. Diaz make any sense?
Yes it does.
Neither fighter is in the immediate title picture, be it at middleweight or welterweight. Both are still big attractions in the cage, in websites' analytics reports and in dollars willing to be parted with by fans.
Both are also mercurial, so despite all the "I'll fight him" talk, there's never a guarantee the fight will happen until two minutes after Bruce Buffer introduces both fighters.
With that caveat, there comes this question: Who will Anderson Silva actually fight in his first back from injury whenever that day arrives (likely in 2015)? Vote in the poll below.
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