UFC middleweight Chris Weidman posted X-rays of his broken leg — pre- and post-surgery — on Tuesday as he made his way home following a gruesome injury at UFC 261 on Saturday.
Weidman posted the images to his social media accounts, along with a video of him and his family flying from Jacksonville, Florida, to their home in South Carolina on a private plane chartered by the UFC.
Few X-rays pre-surgery and post-surgery pic.twitter.com/7zLrBH4jZt
— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) April 27, 2021
“I’m excited to get back home and get in my own bed and continue with recovery,” Weidman said in one of the videos.
Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, suffered a compound fracture of his right leg just seconds into Saturday’s 185-pound bout against Uriah Hall. Weidman threw a kick intended for Hall’s leg and Hall blocked it, causing Weidman’s leg to shatter on impact in a hard-to-watch scene.
Weidman, visibly and audibly in pain, was taken from the Octagon via stretcher and underwent emergency surgery Sunday, with doctors putting titanium rods and pins into the injured leg. Weidman fractured his tibia and fibula.
“The primary concern is the bone punctured through my calf and skin when I put my weight on it, making sure the laceration doesn’t get infected,” Weidman wrote in his Instagram post Tuesday.
Weidman also thanked UFC chief medical physician Dr. Jeff Davidson for being by his side during the whole ordeal, along with UFC president Dana White for arranging the private plane from the hospital to his home.
Weidman said in an Instagram video Monday that he would be able to walk without crutches in about eight weeks. As far as a return to training, Weidman said doctors told him that between six and 12 months from now he’ll “be good to go.”
Weidman, 36, is just the third fighter in UFC history to suffer a broken leg due to a checked kick. The late Corey Hill and UFC legend Anderson Silva are the others.
Silva’s leg break happened against Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013. Silva was able to return 13 months later and is still an active fighter now at 46 years old.