5 of the nastiest-looking injuries in UFC history

#2. Anderson Silva – broken leg – UFC 168

Anderson Silva suffered a horrifying broken leg in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168

When Chris Weidman unseated legendary UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162, it would’ve been easy for ‘The All-American’ to get carried away with his achievement.

However, Weidman’s cornermen – Ray Longo and Matt Serra – actually weren’t impressed with the amount of leg kicks he took in the opening round. And so they drilled Weidman on exactly how to check a leg kick.

Nobody could’ve seen the impact that the training would have on Weidman’s rematch with ‘The Spider’, which came six months later at UFC 168.

The first round clearly went to Weidman, who once again hurt Silva with his striking. It was clear that the former champion needed to turn things around in the second round. Silva came out on the offensive and went back to the strike that’d worked so well in their first fight – the leg kick.

Except when he threw a left leg kick this time, Weidman quickly pulled his leg into the air to check it. Silva’s shin connected with Weidman’s, and as he stepped back, it suddenly became clear what’d happened.

Twitter reacts to Anderson Silva’s graphic broken leg during UFC 168 http://t.co/b3KyyoqaL5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2013

His leg had snapped, and was now swinging all over the place like it’d been transformed into a flipper. Silva collapsed in agony, and his attempt to regain the UFC middleweight title was over in an instant.

‘The Spider’ would return after rehabbing the injury, but won just one of his next seven UFC fights – and never gained revenge on Weidman.

---

#1. Chris Weidman – broken leg – UFC 261

Chris Weidman suffered a similar injury to the one he inflicted on Anderson Silva in his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 261

As the old saying goes, “what goes around, comes around”. Anderson Silva was not able to gain revenge over Chris Weidman after breaking his leg in their rematch. But when Weidman fought Uriah Hall at UFC 261, it was hard not to believe that karma was working somehow.

The fight began and after the two middleweights touched gloves, Weidman attempted some jabs before throwing a hard leg kick with his right leg.

Hall didn’t outright check the kick as Weidman had done against Silva. However, it was instantly clear that the strike hadn’t gone how ‘The All-American’ was hoping it would.

With a scream of agony, Weidman collapsed to the ground. As referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight, UFC fans were treated to the horrific visual of a clear break in his shin. The former champion’s leg was flapping around just as Silva’s had done some seven years prior.

If anything, this was a worse injury than the one suffered by Silva, as replays seemed to suggest Weidman put all of his weight on the broken limb after throwing the kick.

Whether Weidman will ever return to the UFC following this injury is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say that fate definitely conspired against him in this fight.

Anderson Silva posted a message to Chris Weidman after Weidman severely injured his leg at #UFC261 Weidman was Silva's opponent seven years ago at UFC 168 when Silva suffered a similar-looking injury. pic.twitter.com/hqtxTsnOep

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 25, 2021