That wasn’t the way anyone — analyst or fan — predicted the fight would end between Anderson Silva (33-6) and Chris Weidman (11-0) at UFC 168.
The scene was gruesome and hard to watch as Silva, one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world, broke his leg from throwing a kick at Weidman in the second round. Weidman checked the kick with the bottom of his knee, snapping Silva’s leg, and referee Herb Dean came in to wave the fight off at 1:16 in the round.
Here is the video (viewer discretion is advised).
Following the fight, Silva had successful surgery on his left tibia, but will stay hospitalized for a couple days. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Steven Sanders said he will not require additional surgery, according to statement released by the UFC.
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UFC President Dana White said there is no timetable for Silva to return to the Octagon or if he even could come back.
In the co-main event, Ronda Rousey submitted Miesha Tate by armbar in the third round (surprise, surprise), and when Tate tried to shake Rousey’s hand, Rousey turned and walked away.
In her post fight interview with Joe Rogan, fans at the MGM Grand booed Rousey for not shaking hands with Tate.
When asked about the boos, Rousey said, “I promised my family I wouldn’t shake hands with her, and my family is more important than the crowd booing.”
At the post-fight conference White said Rousey would be headlining UFC 170 against Sara McMann, with Rashad Evans taking on Daniel Cormier in the co-main event.
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White added, Cat Zingano, who was originally scheduled to fight Rousey at UFC 168, is still recovering from her injury and will resume training in March.
Also on the main card, Travis “Hapa” Browne knocked out Josh Barnett in the first round of their fight with elbow strikes to the side of the head, which was Browne’s third victory in a row and puts Browne in the thick of title contention with the heavyweights.
In lightweight action, Jim Miller submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Fabricio Camoes via armbar in the first round.
The main card opened with Dustin Poirier taking out Diego Brandao with punches in the first round and Uriah Hall defeating Chris Leben via corner stoppage. Leben, who made it out of the first round, was incoherent following a barrage of punches, and he stopped the fight himself saying, “I’m done.”
Happy New Year everyone, and if this was the last we saw from Anderson “Spider” Silva, it was a great career indeed.
UFC fights and commentary are available on UFC Next on FilmOn:
David Kano is lead writer for MMA Show News and co-host of The Hollywood MMA Show. You can follow him on Twitter @TheDKano.
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