Today, Dana White appeared on ESPN with a fight announcement that had been teased all week. Anderson Silva will be making his return from injury on January 31st in Las Vegas, and when he does so, Nick Diaz will be there to meet him. Max Bretos announced the news via Twitter:
Anderson will be returning from a little over a year on the sidelines, following a gruesome lower leg break, suffered in his second bout against Chris Weidman. The loss marked the first back to back losses of Silva's career, as well as solidifying Weidman's grip on the UFC middleweight title. Silva's rehab has been big news, as the fighter was quick to return to walking and even training on the injured leg, but still ended up taking a reasonably cautious amount of time before returning to the cage.
Diaz won't be on any fresher legs when he meets Silva. The older Diaz brother hasn't fought since UFC 158, when he was handily outworked for 5 rounds by Georges St-Pierre. That loss was his second in a row, following a decision against Carlos Condit, and a short term retirement inbetween the two. He went into retirement again after his GSP loss and will have been out of the sport for nearly two years by the time he returns to face Silva in January.
No venue has been announced for the card as of yet, but it has to be assumed that the bout will be on PPV. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow as I'm sure more details will be forthcoming.
UPDATE: Brett Okamoto also announced via Twitter that the bout will take place at middleweight and that the event will be a PPV, UFC 183.