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    Chris Weidman to Undergo Surgery After Suffering Gruesome Leg Injury at UFC 261

    Paul KasabianSenior ContributorApril 25, 2021

    Chris Weidman stands atop a scale during the weigh-ins ahead his mixed martial arts middleweight bout against Ronaldo Souza at UFC 230, Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
    Julio Cortez/Associated Press

    Chris Weidman suffered a horrific leg injury after attempting a low kick on opponent Uriah Hall just seconds into their middleweight fight at UFC 261 on Saturday.

    Ariel Helwani @arielhelwani

    Holy. Weidman just kicked Uriah Hall SECONDS into their fight and his leg snapped. The exact same thing that happened to Anderson Silva against Weidman. This is absolutely horrific.

    ESPN @espn

    Chris Weidman was stretchered off after suffering a leg injury against Uriah Hall. #UFC261 https://t.co/lpwhGmHO3D

    UFC Ultimate Insider host and MMA reporter Megan Olivi provided an update on Weidman's health later in the evening alongside that of Jimmy Crute, who suffered an injury that forced his match against Anthony Smith to end prematurely beforehand:

    SportsCenter @SportsCenter

    .@MeganOlivi provides an injury update after #UFC261 • Jimmy Krute's knee is stabilized • Chris Weidman has been admitted to the hospital and will have surgery tomorrow https://t.co/qUd30S8slB

    The moment was eerily similar to when Anderson Silva snapped his leg after attempting to kick Weidman at UFC 168 in Dec. 2013. It also occurred one fight after a doctor's stoppage ended the Smith vs. Crute matchup:

    ESPN MMA @espnmma

    After the fight was waved off, @lionheartasmith and @CruteJim embraced in the Octagon 🤝 Stream #UFC261 on ESPN+ ▶️ https://t.co/11j8ptNbRf https://t.co/gmjOzwZR32

    Hall was clearly shaken up, and he wished Weidman well in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan:

    ESPN MMA @espnmma

    "I hope he's okay. I wish his family well if you guys are watching." @UriahHallMMA had a classy message for Chris Weidman and his family after their fight at #UFC261 ended with an injury to Weidman's leg. https://t.co/u12EWgoQaK

    Many fighters sent their well-wishes to Weidman after the injury, including heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou:

    Chris Weidman to Undergo Surgery After Suffering Gruesome Leg Injury at UFC 261
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    Francis Ngannou @francis_ngannou

    This is horrible 😢 Unfortunate for Chris I hope he recover fast. #ufc261

    Frankie Edgar @FrankieEdgar

    Damn hope @chrisweidman is ok, Heart goes out to him and his family.

    Rafael dos Anjos @RdosAnjosMMA

    Speed recovery @chrisweidman that was hard to watch #UFC261

    Smith was also clearly emotional after hearing the news during his post-match press conference:

    br_betting @br_betting

    Anthony Smith was shaken up in the press room after Chris Weidman's gruesome injury https://t.co/Sanmqxp30K

    The Weidman-Hall fight was one of five on the UFC 261 main card, which was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Three championship matches are on the card, with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman's successful title defense against Jorge Masvidal serving as the main event.