‘This Absolutely Sucks’

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is out of surgery and doing well after suffering a “horrible” broken leg in the opening seconds of his Uriah Hall fight, which took place at the UFC 261 pay-per-view (PPV) event on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

That’s according to his wife, Marivi Weidman.

“Well that was horrible,” Weidman wrote on social media. “Freak things happen in life and plans get crushed. It’s been a lonnnng day but so happy to finally see this man of mine post surgery. Everything went well, thank you Lord! Very thankful for the medical staff, UFC family and our family and friends here rallying to help with the kids.”

The 36 year-old “All American” opened round one with a powerful leg kick, but in a scene not unlike his UFC 168 bout against Anderson Silva, Weidman’s leg snapped in half, then folded under itself when the ex-champ stepped backward to brace his fall.

Watch the gory (and NSFW) replay right here.

“My heart breaks for my husband because I know the work and dedication that he puts into his training every day and the great man that he is, so I only want the best for him,” Weidman continued. “While this absolutely sucks in the moment and for some weeks to come, we are completely overwhelmed by the love and support we have far and wide and are very aware how blessed we are. All of that overpowers the awfulness of this situation.”

This was an important fight for Weidman, who has not won back-to-back fights in nearly six years. Coming into his “Prime Time” return, the always-confident “All American” was hoping to build on his Aug. 2020 decision win over Omari Akhmedov.

Instead, he’ll find himself out of action for at least a year — or more.

“How loud was that? Holy shit that was crazy,” UFC President Dana White said about the sound of Weidman’s leg snapping. “I don’t even know what to say about that. I don’t wanna say anything … the guy is laying in the hospital right now. Let’s see how he gets through this injury and we’ll go from there.”

As for Hall, a quick turnaround may be in order, according to White, following his “weird” win that didn’t require “Prime Time” to do anything except let Weidman self destruct. As of this writing, we still haven’t heard from the “All American,” but that’s likely to change over the next few days, if not sooner.

For more results and fallout from UFC 261 click here.