10 Most Anticipated Returns In UFC History

9. Anderson Silva (UFC 234)

Brock Lesnar Mark Hunt UFC 200
UFC

It's impossible to have a conversation about the best all round fighter to ever step inside the Octagon without Anderson Silva's name cropping up - and with good reason.

You can't hold the record for the longest UFC title reign in history (2,457 days) without having a specific set of lethal tools to fall back on and have them he did. His flamboyance and fluid energy both inside and outside of the cage made him an absolute hit with fans worldwide.

That's why it was devastating to learn that The Spider would be receiving a year long suspension for failing a drug test in November 2017.

As he was already in his 40s, Silva had surely surpassed his prime, but a UFC without one of its most charismatic characters felt as though it was lacking a certain Brazilian spark for a while.

Then - after being cleared to fight from November 2018 onwards - a titanic announcement was made. The veteran, Silva, would be taking on the newcomer, Israel Adesanya, at UFC 234 and fans started to salivate.

Not only would we be finally getting to see an icon return, but he would be re-entering the Octagon against a competitor that had been billed as the 'new Anderson Silva'.

The fight would go the distance - with Adesanya taking the decision - yet it was a welcome sight to see one of the UFC's best back home inside a cage in a Fight of the Night performance.

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Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...