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          Fighters react to Chris Weidman's leg injury at UFC 261

          Chris Weidman suffered a catastrophic leg injury just 17 seconds into his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
          • ESPN
          Apr 25, 2021, 03:14 AM

          Just 17 seconds into his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, Chris Weidman threw a kick towards Hall's leg and appeared to seriously injure himself as his right leg bent unnaturally around Hall's left leg. The fight was immediately stopped, and a quiet fell on the crowd at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.

          Weidman was placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of the arena. It was a moment eerily reminiscent of Weidman's middleweight championship fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 168 back in December 2013, when Silva suffered a similar-looking injury on a similar-looking kick.

          Hall shared his concerns for Weidman after the fight.

          "I've got nothing but respect for Chris Weidman," Hall said. "He's truly one of the best. It's a crazy story. That he was the first man I fought that defeated me [in 2010], that introduced me to fear. I didn't know what fear was. Then we went different paths. He was the first person to defeat Anderson [in the UFC], and I was the last. It's crazy how we ended up here again. I wanted to put on a great performance but man, I feel so bad. I hope he's OK. I wish his family well."

          Those who weren't in the arena on Saturday night took to Twitter in the immediate aftermath of that moment to share their thoughts and well wishes for Weidman as well.