Less than 24 hours after suffering one of the most gruesome injuries fans will ever see at UFC 168, legendary fighter Anderson Silva released his first statement regarding the incident.
He took to Twitter to do so:
Martin Domin of the Daily Mail provided the English translation: “Brazil I’m sorry, I didn’t want to disappoint you! I gave my best I swear.”
For those who may have missed it, Silva suffered a freak broken leg in the second round of his fight against Chris Weidman. He attempted a simple low kick to weaken Weidman’s legs, but his left leg simply snapped when it struck Weidman’s knee.
ESPN’s Dan Rafael compared the injury to one NFL fans will remember, while Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani described Silva’s agonizing pain:
It’s remarkable that Silva’s first statement after suffering the injury is aimed at his fans instead of his own plight. He showed true class, apologizing for his failure, even though he had no control over what happened.
After breaking his leg, Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital for treatment, as detailed by UFC.com:
Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, released the following statement regarding Anderson Silva’s injury.
“Following Saturday evening’s UFC 168 main event, former champion Anderson Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital where he underwent surgery to repair a broken left leg. The successful surgery, performed by Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC’s orthopedic surgeon, inserted anintramedullary rod into Anderson’s left tibia. The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery. Anderson will remain in the hospital for a short while, but no additional surgery is scheduled at this time. Recovery time for such injuries may vary between three and six months.
“Anderson is deeply touched by the outpouring of support from his fans and the entire MMA community. There has been no immediate decision about his future, and he would kindly ask for privacy at this time as he deals with his injury and prepares to return home to recover.”
Not surprisingly, Weidman took to Twitter to wish his fallen opponent well after the fight:
Unfortunately, the future is in question for the former champ.
“He could come back, obviously, or it could be the end,” UFC president Dana White said, via Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “We’ll have to see. He’s going into surgery right this second.”
Tito Ortiz is one who doesn’t see Silva coming back from the brutal injury:
Silva won’t likely want to go out as a two-time loser after putting together such a stellar career. That said, if he never steps into the Octagon again, he’ll still go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. He defended the UFC Middleweight title 10 times before finally losing it to Weidman.
Still, going out on top is every fighter’s dream, and nobody wants to finish with a whimper. It will be fascinating to see how Silva responds to this latest challenge.
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