"Ref should have stopped it long time ago" - MMA fans left shocked as fighter Mateusz Strzelczyk snaps leg in half at Oktagon 44

This weekend saw a number of big MMA events, but the most shocking finish happened in the fight between Mateusz Strzelczyk and Rafael Xavier at the Oktagon 44 event in Germany.

The bout, which took place in the welterweight division, ended via TKO in the third round in favour of Xavier.

However, this was no regular stoppage. Unfortunately for Strzelczyk, when he threw a low kick, Xavier countered with one of his own and the two legs met.

The result was the Polish fighter suffering a badly broken leg, as he stumbled backwards before collapsing due to the clear fracture.

Watch footage of Mateusz Strzelczyk’s injury below. Warning: not for the squeamish...

Unsurprisingly, this incident was met with shocking reactions from MMA fans across the world, most notably those who tuned into the event.

Many seemed angered that the referee had not already called a halt to the fight. Xavier had been dominant throughout, bloodying Strzelczyk, and the commentator in the above clip can be heard to say “whatever Xavier throws is going to land.”

Most fans, of course, simply focused on the horror of the injury suffered by the Polish fighter, who saw a three-fight win streak snapped by this defeat.

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Mateusz Strzelczyk injury: Have any UFC fighters suffered a similar fate?

The nasty leg break suffered by Mateusz Strzelczyk at this weekend’s Oktagon 44 event has quickly garnered plenty of attention online. Unfortunately, this kind of injury is surprisingly common in MMA, with a number of notable UFC fighters suffering a similar fate in recent years.

Three fighters in particular come to mind when it comes to this kind of injury: Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman and Conor McGregor, all three of whom held UFC titles at one point.

Silva suffered his injury in his middleweight title bout with Weidman in 2013 and required serious surgery on his left tibia.

‘The Spider’ was 38 years old when he suffered the injury, and while he returned just over a year later, he was never the same again.

Ironically, Weidman suffered a very similar injury against Uriah Hall in 2021. In a moment of true class, Silva was one of the first fighters to offer ‘The All-American’ support.

McGregor, meanwhile, saw his left leg break in his 2021 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, resulting in the fight being stopped immediately. ‘The Notorious’ has not fought since suffering this injury, although he is hoping to return in the near future.