Widely regarded as the greatest UFC champion of all-time, Anderson Silva's career could be over after he broke his leg while throwing at kick at middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the second round of their UFC 168 main eventer on Saturday, giving Weidman another victory and more importantly signaling perhaps the end of a brilliant career.
The highly anticipated rematch between Silva and Weidman ended at the 1:16 mark of the second round as Silva's bone instantly snapped just above the ankle after he whipped a hard kick at Weidman, who checked the maneuver. UFC president Dana White said Silva had to undergo surgery after the bout.
Asked about the technique he used to counter Silva's kick, Weidman told Yahoo! Sports about what he learned from his coach Ray Longo. He was quoted as saying: " "Ray Longo once broke a guy's leg in training using what he calls 'The Destruction. "It's knee on shin, so when he goes to kick, you put your knee on his shin. It has happened in sparring and guys take a minute off and walk around, and at least it stops them from kicking you.
Still, Weidman showed some remorse after seeing his opponent scream in pain. "To break someone's leg, I've never done that before. I didn't want to see Anderson get hurt like that."
The 38-year old Silva had already contemplated retiring, especially after losing to Weidman on UFC 162 in July. His injury coupled with his advanced aged can make it doubly harder to get back to competition.
But Silva had encountered a rough time against Weidman even before the injury occurred. In the first round, Weidman caught him with a short right hand that nearly knocked him out. Silva received several nasty elbows but recovered just enough to make it through the next round.
Yet the younger Weidman showered his fallen opponent with praises. "He's never shown signs of slowing down, so I couldn't afford to think that because he's getting older this would be the fight where it would start showing," Weidman said. "I expected the best Anderson Silva and I actually thought he looked great tonight. Physically, I thought he looked the best I've ever seen him."
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