Editor’s note: Watch Stephania Bell’s documentary on Chris Weidman’s recovery on ESPN+.
Chris Weidman lay face down in the Octagon, writhing in pain and trying to understand the severity of his injury. The former UFC middleweight champion was just 17 seconds into his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 24, 2021, when a single right leg kick silenced the sold-out arena.
Weidman’s leg snapped as it struck Hall’s shin. He suffered a compound fracture of his two lower leg bones, the tibia and fibula, and the latter bone had punctured the skin through his calf, rendering his injury even more serious. Ringside physicians rushed to stabilize his leg as he was immediately transported to the hospital.
Seeing him so severely injured was a devastating shock to all watching, but it was an immediate dagger to the heart of the three women closest to him. His mother, Mary, and wife, Marivi, were spectators in the arena and could not tell exactly what had happened. They just knew they needed to get to Chris. Meanwhile, his sister Colleen, watching from home,…
