This past weekend, mixed martial arts fans across the globe witnessed a special event. With three world championship fights, UFC 261 had built up quite a bit of excitement in the martial arts sphere. Former champion Rose Namajunas challenged the reigning champion Weili Zhang for the Strawweight title, Jessica Andrade fought Valentina Schevchenko for the Womens’ Flyweight title, and fan favorite Jorge Masvidal locked horns with reigning champion Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title. With a lineup like that, this was a highly anticipated card; but nobody could have predicted how the first two fights of the night would unfold.
The main card opened with a light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Anthony “Lionheart” Smith and up-and-coming contender Jimmy Crute. Smith established a strong jab early and Crute replied with some heavy leg kicks. As the end of the first round was drawing near, Smith lands a calf kick that shuts down Crute’s left leg. Crute was affected by a condition known as “drop foot”; where the peroneal nerve becomes damaged, preventing the affected foot from moving or supporting weight. Lacking feeling in his foot, Crute rolled his ankle but immediately shot a takedown, ending up on top of Smith. When the bell rang, Crute limped to his corner. He stood up and told officials that he was ready to continue, but the ringside physician determined that he was no longer fit to be fighting. Although one may think this was an unlikely fluke, calf kicks have been resulting in drop foot more and more frequently. Most recently, exciting prospect “Suga” Sean O’Malley was defeated by Marlon “Chito” Vera with this same technique. In recent years, we’ve seen this same affect from calf kicks on respected names such as Michael Chandler and Henry Cejudo, and it seems to be happening at a more frequent rate.
Audiences sympathized with Crute but kept their eyes glued to the screen to see the all-star veteran matchup between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall. Weidman, the former middleweight champion of the world, gained notoriety by knocking out the great Anderson Silva in 2013. At that point, Anderson Silva was considered to be the greatest fighter to ever step foot in the octagon. Five months later they met again for a rematch at UFC 168. In the second round, Silva threw a hard leg kick, Weidman raised his shin to check the kick. Throughout the stadium fans gasped in horror as they watched Silva’s leg snap in half against Weidmans. Anderson fell to the canvas writhing in pain over what many thought would be a career ending injury. Anderson came back to have some great fights over the last few years, ending his UFC contract by losing to Ultimate Fighter star Uriah Hall.
Both having defeated the legend in Anderson Silva, Hall and Weidman were an interesting style matchup. Hall, very similar to Silva in his dazzling and flashy striking was hoping to come one step closer to title contention after beating All-American wrestler and former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. The fight begins as both men are feeling each other out. Weidman steps in, throwing a vicious leg kick to get things started. As Hall stiffens his leg to meet the kick, the crowd experienced a nauseating moment of déjà vu. Just as Silva’s leg had broken on his own eight years prior, Weidmans leg snapped, wrapping around Halls shin as if it had no bones at all. As he retracted the kick and tried to step on the foot, Weidman collapsed in agony, realizing what had happened.
It’s not every day that an injury of that magnitude is showcased in the octagon. In that moment, life came full circle for Weidman. Unfortunately, his leg had broken in the same exact way that his old rival’s had broken in their 2013 bout. Mixed martial arts can be gruesome and cruel, but fortunately Weidman had surgery the following morning and is expected to make a full recovery in six to eight months. Already in the twilight of his career, fans are unsure of whether he will continue after this. Regardless of what happens for Weidman in the future, he’s had an incredible career and has brought us great fights and incredible moments in the sport.
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About the Author:
Oliver Swanson has been a student of Precision Boxing and MMA since 2016. He trains boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is a personal fitness trainer and teaches boxing classes at Precision throughout the week.
