UFC 261: Chris Weidman snaps leg throwing kick vs. Uriah Hall – same way he beat Anderson Silva

In perhaps the most horrifically ironic result in MMA history, Chris Weidman snapped his leg throwing a kick against Uriah Hall – the same way he beat Anderson Silva nearly eight years ago.

The first kick Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) threw, with his right leg, Hall (17-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) lifted his left leg to check it. When he did, Weidman’s lower right leg folded like it was made of rubber. Weidman then stepped on the leg and went down. The fight was stopped immediately just 17 seconds in.

In December 2013, in his first defense of the UFC middleweight title against Silva, whom he beat for the belt earlier that year, Weidman checked a Silva kick and snapped Silva’s leg. The only real difference between the Silva kick that Weidman checked, and the Weidman kick that Hall checked more than seven years later was left leg vs. right leg.

The injury kept Silva out for more than a year and is known as one of the most gruesome injuries in the sport’s history.

Weidman’s left leg was put into a compression boot and he was taken from the cage on a stretcher. During replays shown in the arena, the reported 15,000 fans in attendance let out seemingly unanimous groans. The event was the UFC’s first in front of fans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Chris Weidman,” Hall told Joe Rogan after the fight. “He’s truly one of the best. It is a crazy story that he was the first man I fought that defeated me, that introduced me to fear. … I wanted to put on a great performance. I feel so bad for him. I hope he’s OK. I wish the family well. It’s the sucky part of this sport. … I hope he recovers.”

UFC 261 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The event was the UFC’s first in front of fans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 261 results include:

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Twitter reacts to Chris Weidman's leg break against Uriah Hall at UFC 261