If you are at all squeamish or have a hard time watching bad injuries during mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts then click back on your browser right now and continue on with your Friday night.
For those of you who can stand to watch a fellow human being go through the ringer then the ACA 161 card earlier today (Fri., Aug. 11, 2023) from Moscow, Russia, offered up a gruesome MMA injury for the ages. One that will have you looking away and staring closely at the exact same time.
The injury took place during a co-main event scrap between heavyweight juggernauts Mukhamad Vakhaev and Grigoriy Ponomarev. It took only 30 seconds for the shit to hit the proverbial fan and the injury of all injuries to put an end to this heavyweight affair.
After a brief scramble along the cage Ponomarev tried to move in for a takedown. As he was rushing in Vakhaev went to counter with a toss. Unfortunately, Ponomarev’s leg was completely tangled up and that’s when fight fans witnessed the unruly injury. Ponomarev’s knee looked to hyperextend (probably ripping every part of it) and his ankle snapped in two. It was two of the worst injuries you could imagine wrapped into five seconds of hell.
You can check out the video replay in the above player if you dare. The slow-motion clip is even worse as you can see every snap of Ponomarev’s leg.
MMA fans are some of the most hardened and seasoned people in all of sports. Most have seen the worst of the worst when it comes to cuts, ankle breaks, blown ACLs, and even knocked out teeth, but this clip takes things to an entirely new level.
Thoughts? Is this one of the worst MMA injuries you’ve ever seen?
Let’s discuss!