Chris Weidman suffers horror leg break in UFC 261 clash vs Uriah Hall and is stretchered out of arena
FORMER middleweight champ Chris Weidman suffered a horrific leg break in his UFC 261 showdown with Uriah Hall.
The All American shattered his right tibia in the first round of his rematch with Primetime.
Weidman’s shin snapped in two following a perfect leg check from Hall.
And to make matters worse, the former UFC champion tried to step on his leg after it had broken – seemingly unaware of the damage done.
The 36-year-old’s leg – which was like jelly – gave way and he collapsed to the canvas in agony in stomach-churning scenes.
Referee Herb Dean immediately called a halt to proceedings and the arena fell silent seconds after realising what had transpired.
The doctors then went to work on the fallen New Yorker, who was also attended to by his cornermen.
After bracing Weidman’s leg, the UFC’s medical team shuttled the fan favourite out of the arena on a stretcher.
Weidman’s leg break was eerily similar to Anderson Silva’s in their 2013 rematch.
The Long Island native shattered Silva’s leg with exactly the same leg check in their UFC 168 clash.
Hall was emotional in the aftermath of the leg break and was quick to wish Weidman a speedy recovery.
In his post-fight interview, he said: “I got nothing but respect for Chris Weidman, he is truly one of the best.
“It is a crazy story that he was the first man that I fought that defeated me and introduced me to fear.
“I didn’t know what fear was, I was scared of wrestling.
“And during that time, we went down different paths. He was the first one that defeated Anderson, I was the last.
“And it was just crazy how we ended up here again. I wanted to put out a great performance.
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“But man, I feel so bad for him. I hope he’s okay. I wish his family well if you guys are watching.
“It’s a sucky part of the sport, it’s the hurt business. And believe me, they don’t see the fight outside of the octagon.
“I got nothing bad to say about him and I hope he recovers.
“And hey, whatever rank I am in the future, if he gets well I owe him this fight.
“And I hope he can come back from it.”
Weidman is currently in hospital and is set to undergo surgery on Sunday,