UFC Leg Breaks — This is Just the Beginning
MMA might be the fastest growing sport, but, let’s not forget that it is also one of the most brutal as well. If we look at all combat sports, some studies show that MMA includes the highest rate of injuries. Out of all injuries which a fighter may suffer, it seems that leg kicks are the hardest ones to watch. Watching and even hearing a bone snapping in half gives makes us feel sick every single time. You just can’t get used to these things.
The bad part is, this is just a beginning. We will see more UFC fighters breaking their legs in front of millions of fans watching. Why we are so confident, you may ask?
Well, the answer is very simple. Let us bring you close to leg breaks in the UFC and why they are about to become a common thing.
Why there are so many leg breaks in the UFC?
First of all, let’s get one thing straight. There are many leg and foot injuries in MMA, these injuries happen quite often. Fortunately, seeing a fighter breaking their leg in the middle of the fight is not a common thing. We can see that taking place once in a couple of years on average. But we can expect to see more leg and foot injuries in the future, and you better train your stomach for more leg breaks as well. Why we are so sure?
In recent years, we can see the rapid rise of leg kicks in MMA, which to some extend have become the main weapon. In fact, vicious calf kicks, for instance, are so effective that you can’t survive at the elite level of MMA without knowing how to, at least, check them. Sooner or later, fighters like Barboza will expose this hole in your game, and it will be a very painful experience.
But at the same time, fighters are also getting good at checking them, and this is where leg fractures come into play. On one side, we had elite strikers using leg kicks to win fights for many years. But now, we have the rise of fighters who know how to check them.
The math is very simple here as the higher percentage of checked leg kicks increases the chance of leg fractures.
How can a fighter break the leg with low kicks?
Leg fractures in MMA usually happen when a fighter checks the kick. In most cases, one fighter will throw a kick targeting the calf below the knee or thigh above the knee. If the opponent times the kick well, they would lift their leg up, and check the kick with their knee. The bones like fibula snap the moment it makes contact with the knee, instead of with the muscle.
In some cases, seeing a leg snapping in half is a result of a previous, smaller leg fracture. Fighters may come into the bout with a leg injury or a small fracture they have suffered in training camp. The leg didn’t have enough time to heal up the right way so the impact of the kick doesn’t have to be huge for the leg to break.
The other scenario is when a fighter starts throwing a leg kick and one of them results in a small fracture. Due to high adrenalin, they may not feel the pain or that anything is wrong with their foot. But as they continue to kick with the same leg, the leg would finally snap and result in a bad injury.
Why leg kicks are so effective in MMA?
Leg kicks, notably calf kicks, have become one of the most effective weapons for many reasons. Although it looks like a simple technique, which it is, kicks to the leg are a versatile weapon. Here is what makes leg kicks one of the best weapons in MMA.
Simple and safe to use
Leg kicks are a simple technique that doesn’t burn your energy as other kicks do. Unlike body, thigh, or head kicks, you can blast the leg from a safe distance without worrying too much about the counters. If you want to land a body kick, you have to come a bit close and step into the opponent’s range from which they can hit you with the punches. But by going low and blasting the calf, you don’t have to do that at all.
Wrestlers have a hard time catching it
How many times have we seen strikers hesitating to throw kicks against elite wrestlers? It happens often because wrestlers know how to catch kicks and score takedowns. But in most cases, they catch the kicks that go above the knee, to the body or head. You will rarely see them catching a low kick simply because, as its name suggests, the kick is too low.
Hard to defend
Leg kicks, notably calf kicks, are not easy to defend. It’s very hard to time when the opponent is going to throw them, or even if you do, you have little to no time to check it. Things get even harder when you think that a lot of MMA fighters like to stand heavy on the lead leg.
Efficiency
A skilled fighter who knows how to throw proper leg kicks can quickly destroy the opponent’s lead leg. Just a few leg kicks to the calf is often enough to do damage and shut down their lead leg. Once the lead leg is gone, the opponent would have a hard time throwing strikes or shooting for a takedown.
Who are the fighters who broke their leg in UFC?
Over the years, we have seen a couple of UFC fighters suffering horrible leg fractures in the middle of the fight. Those types of injuries are really hard to watch and can make your stomach sick. Here are the three most popular leg fractures in the UFC:
Anderson Silva — UFC 168
Silva came to the UFC 168 event looking to avenge his previous loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162. The hype around this event was huge since a lot of fans believed that Weidman’s win was a fluke. How can someone be better in the standup than the popular “spider”? But, it turned out to be true as Weidman went on to break Silva’s leg with a pinpoint perfect check. The way Weidman checked that kick in the second round should enter some martial art books.
But at the same time, seeing Silva’s leg snapping in half was shocking. We haven’t seen such a thing happening in UFC before that. It was, by far, the worst injury fighter suffered in an MMA event. The injury was so bad that Silva actually never recovered from it.
Chris Weidman- UFC 261
When Weidman broke his leg at UFC 261 we were all shocked how devastating the injury was. But at the same time, it was weird to see this happening to Weidman who, as said earlier, was involved when Anderson Silva suffered the same injury.
Weidman opened up the fight with a wild leg kick. But Hall, who is one of the most technical strikes on the roster, perfectly placed his left knee to check the kick. The check snapped Weidman’s fibula, resulting in a horrific injury.
The fight would also go in the history book for one bizarre record. This was the first time in history that a UFC fighter, in this case, Uriah Hall, has won the fight without landing a single strike. Yes, the leg kick Weidman threw was the first strike of the match.
Conor McGregor- UFC 264
Mcgregor is a fighter who likes to stay heavy on the lead leg which Porier capitalized on in their second matchup. In the third fight, McGregor threw plenty of hard leg kicks in the first round. He was loading on each kick, trying to do the same thing that Poirier did to him in their previous bout.
But in the last seconds of the first round, McGregor threw a hard kick to the body. Once he got back to his stance, his left leg (rear) collapsed and he fell down to the canvas. Poirier started blasting him with heavy ground and pound to close the show, but there was not enough time. However, he broke his tibia and couldn’t continue.
