Anderson Silva said that he is not feeling any pain from his surgically-repaired leg, but the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight kingpin is still struggling to regain his confidence.

Silva, who will make his return to the Octagon at UFC 183 on Jan. 31 against Nick Diaz, said that he has regained his strength, but pointed out that the hardest part of his recovery is getting the confidence to kick again.

"I feel no pain at all," Silva said in an interview via MMA Fighting. "My strength is back because I'm back to training. The hardest part is self-confidence, to kick again as I used to."

The Brazilian mixed martial arts star, who has not fought since breaking his leg during his rematch with Chris Weidman in December last year, added that he worked with a psychologist to help him get over with the "ghost" of his horrific leg injury.

"I've worked with a psychologist so I can get rid of the ghosts of those horrible moments of that fight, when I had that accident," Silva said. "I'm a little apprehensive in training. I know I can execute the movement, but I end up not doing it for fear. Yeah, I won't get hurt. I know I won't get hurt, but fear is natural."

Silva vowed to prepare hard for his return bout against Diaz in January in hopes of recovering from two straight defeats to Weidman.

But when asked if he will seek a rematch with Weidman or look for another title shot, Silva said that he is not desperate to become a world champion again because he has nothing to prove and that he has already built a lasting legacy in the sport.

"I'm over this thing of being champion, having the title," Silva said. "The truth is, there will only be one Ayrton Senna, there will only be one Pele, and there will only be one Anderson Silva, so whoever saw me (as champion), saw me. Who haven't seen me (as champion), won't see it."

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