UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2 ends in controversial fashion, as Anderson’s career is officially in jeopardy.
Last night, mixed martial arts promotion UFC held their final pay-per-view for 2013, with a rematch of the long-awaited Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva bout at MGM in Las Vegas. For the last 8 years, Silva had been dominating the sport in the middleweight class; and held the longest title defense streak in UFC history until last July when he suffered a shocking loss to undefeated fighter Chris Weidman.
Much like their first fight, the rematch saw a similar outcome in timing, but with a twist. Silva showed signs in the opening round to last longer than he did in the previous bout for the UFC Middleweight Championship; but would suffer a fatal injury to his left leg going for a routine shin hit. Silva immediately fell flat with a broken shin of his own, as the match was stopped marking his 2nd consecutive loss. Check after the jump for more on the story.
Silva was transferred to a Las Vegas hospital after suffering a TKO at the hands of Weidman. UFC orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steven Sanders performed an operation earlier this morning on the 38-year-old Brazilian legend earlier this morning. Following surgery, Sanders revealed,
“The successful surgery inserted an intramedullary rod into Anderson’s left tibia. The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery. Anderson will remain in the hospital for a short while, but no additional surgery is scheduled at this time. Recovery time for such injuries may vary between three and six months.”
UFC president Dana White remained optimistic on Anderson Silva’s return saying,
“Maybe he’ll want to make a comeback, but who knows. We’ll see what happens. I don’t want to count him out. I don’t want to count him in. The important thing is he gets the surgery and heals up.”