After a lengthy time of pandemic-led restrictions having a serious impact on the sport, UFC returned with a full capacity of fans in attendance for UFC 261 at the end of April, which was headlined by the rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.UFC president Dana White promised an explosive card, and boy he was right, as the night lived up to its promise with a number of brutal knockouts and well fought fights. Welterweight champion Usman should have stolen all the headlines with his impressive KO victory, however, the main thing that got people talking was UFC veteran Chris Weidman's absolutely devastating injury, only a matter of seconds into his main card fight with Uriah Hall. The first kick thrown on the night, a low calf kick by Weidman, landed completely wrong and his leg appeared to immediately shatter, leaving the fighter in a world of pain.Now, UFC have released footage showing everyone reacting to the devastating injury, which can be seen further down this article.Commentators Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier and Joe Anik could barely look as Weidman winced on the ground, with the former two using each other to block out the scenes in front of their very eyes.The clip then turns to Weidman's corner, who can be seen holding their heads in utter shock and disbelief, before attentions turns to the locker room.

Zhang Weili can be seen warming up and training ahead of her fight, when her focus turns to the TV screen to see what was unfolding. It's clear to see she was visibly shocked by the horrific injury.

Weidman immediately left the venue via a stretcher and we quickly began to see just how devastating the injury had turned out to be. His opponent Hall looked very shaken and clearly upset about what he had just witnessed. 

Coincidentally, back in December 2013, Weidman was involved in another leg break, however, this time he was not on the receiving end. Former champ Anderson Silva had a leg kick checked by the American and watched his leg shatter in extremely similar circumstances.

Eight years on and Anderson Silva reached out to console Weidman via Twitter, as he would obviously understand better than most just how painful and excruciating this injury could be.

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After undergoing surgery at a Jacksonville hospital following the event, Weidman will begin a long road to recovery and appears to be recovering well.

Dana White said that he is already beginning the early stages of walking again and is expected to be sidelined from competition for at least 6-12 months.

It is very good to see Weidman recovering at a good rate and we will all hopefully see him back in the Octagon before we know it.