5 of the nastiest-looking injuries in UFC history

#4. Jon Jones – broken toe – UFC 159

Jon Jones suffered a horrific broken toe in his fight with Chael Sonnen at UFC 159

Jon Jones’ UFC light heavyweight title defense against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 was among the most straightforward of his career. ‘Bones’ took Sonnen down and worked him over from the top. He eventually stopped ‘The American Gangster’ via TKO with just 30 seconds to go in the first round.

If Sonnen had been able to survive for those final 30 seconds, Jones could well have lost his title thanks to one of the most horrible-looking injuries in UFC history.

The injury came to light after the fight was over. Jones glanced down at his left foot during his post-fight interview and suddenly had to sit on his stool in horror.

Jon Jones broke his toe during his bout at UFC 159, but still managed to finish the contest in the first round. pic.twitter.com/LO6SqPPwuG

— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) April 27, 2019

Essentially, Jones’ left big toe was practically hanging off. Not only had the toe become dislocated during the fight, but it was also badly broken, with the bone clearly sticking through the skin. It was a horrifying visual and quite how ‘Bones’ hadn’t noticed the injury during the fight was anyone’s guess.

How did he suffer the injury? Replays appeared to show that the toe snapped while Jones was driving forward for a takedown. This makes it one of the most unfortunate and freakish injuries in UFC history, as well as one of the worst to see.

Thanks to his ground-and-pound though, Jones managed to stop the fight before anyone noticed his toe hanging off, meaning he held onto his title – and spent five months on the shelf to heal up.

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#3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – broken arm – UFC 140

Frank Mir snapped Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's arm with a kimura at UFC 140

There have been a number of broken arms in UFC history, with the most recent suffered by Jamahal Hill at the hands of Paul Craig at UFC 263. However, easily the nastiest broken arm was suffered by legendary heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140.

Nogueira faced old rival Frank Mir, and ‘Minotauro’ was desperate to avenge a loss he’d suffered at the hands of Mir at UFC 92 in 2008. Early on in the fight, it looked like he’d pull it off.

Nogueira wobbled Mir with a series of punches. When the former champion shot in desperately for a takedown, Nogueira made the error of diving for a guillotine rather than attempting to finish him with strikes.

Mir looked to be in trouble inside the hold before quickly reversing it. In a beautiful piece of grappling, he managed to switch position entirely and get a kimura lock on the Brazilian’s right arm.

What is the Greatest Submission of All-Time?#7 Seed: Frank Mir and Minotauro Nogueira met in a clash of BJJ heavyweights for an unforgettable back-and-forth ground war that ended in a win by Kimura for Frank Mir - and a painful loss for Big Nog. pic.twitter.com/4ZHqnpDbz3

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 12, 2018

Nogueira tried to roll free, but to no avail. Mir then torqued on the limb, which broke like a twig, making an audible snapping sound that horrified the crowd.

When the fight was said and done, Nogueira’s arm was hanging limp at his side, as he’d suffered probably the worst arm injury in UFC history. Unfortunately, he was never really the same again.