Fight fans have witnessed a collection of weird occurrences today in the world of combat sports, including broken front teeth and referees nearly getting flatlined. Now they can add nasty leg break to the list.
Light heavyweight fighters, Rafael Xavier and Mateusz Strzelczyk, met on the main card of Oktagon 44 on Saturday afternoon (June 17, 2023) from inside the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, and their contest ended in disaster.
After nearly 13 minutes of MMA action — which saw Xavier inflict the most damage — the two light heavyweight fighters simultaneously kicked each other. Both connected, but it was clear that Strzelczyk had suffered some sort of injury to his leg. Either from the kick he threw or the one he blocked from Xavier.
Either way, Strzelczyk’s leg completely gave out as he stepped back out of range. He toppled to the canvas and that was all she wrote. It wasn’t as gruesome as some other gnarly leg breaks over the years, but it’s easily one of the worst injuries suffered inside of a cage in 2023.
Check it out below:
Rafael Xavier is finally able to finish Mateusz Strzelczyk in the third round by breaking his leg #Oktagon44 pic.twitter.com/8rn1MBQST8
— ScottishProblem (@ScottishProble) June 17, 2023