10 Most Horrifying MMA Injuries Of All Time
2. Anderson Silva's Leg Break
Even if you've never watched a single MMA fight from start to finish, there's a chance you've seen this injury. It is, without question, the highest profile war wound in the sport's history. Shots of Anderson Silva's snapped leg dangling beneath him flooded the internet and sports media, and despite all the great things 'The Spider' did inside the Octagon, this moment is now as relevant to his legacy as anything else.
Silva's mystique had already been dented by Chris Weidman at UFC 162. Five months later, it was crushed. Anderson fared slightly better in their UFC 168 rematch, bloodying the Middleweight Champion's nose after surviving a knockdown, but he'd have still lost the first round had it gone to the judge's scorecards.
Weidman checked a seemingly innocuous second round leg kick, snapping 'The Spider's' tibia and fibula on impact. Silva tried to stand on the limb, but it crumpled, and he hit the deck an agonised mess. A harrowing sight that humanised a once superhuman fighter, and produced only the second loss of his UFC career.
Metal rods were inserted and Silva returned a year later, but his time as the best fighter on the planet had long since come to an end.