Dave Meltzer - The Wrestling Observer Yearbook 14: The Year of The Yes Movement (Wrestling Observer Newsletter 3)

JANUARY 6

Anderson Silva, perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, was carried from the Octagon on a stretcher after suffering a compound fracture of his lower leg in losing via second round stoppage for the second time to Chris Weidman.

Silva, 38, had publicly hinted of retirement before the match, and had privately told his camp before the fight that should he beat Weidman and regain the title, that he would retire.

The injury was one of the two most visibly ghastly injuries in UFC history, as it appeared Silvas leg from just above the ankle was severed in two. Corey Hill suffered a similar injury in UFC competition, and did return to fight 13 months later, but was never the same. The injury brought up comparisons to Joe Theismann and Sid Vicious, who both made mention on Twitter and Facebook of it. Theismann never played again. Vicious did wrestle again, but not for several years, and was very limited in what he could do.

Silva suffered both a broken tibia and fibula slightly above the ankle when Weidman checked a low kick, essentially using his knee to block the kick. While some would call this a freak accident and say Weidman once again didnt prove to be better than Silva, that may have been accurate in the first fight. That wasnt the case here.

The move that ended the fight was something Weidman and trainer Ray Longo had been practicing constantly since the first fight. In that bout, the only thing Silva did that caused Weidman problems was using low kicks to open up Weidman for punches. While Silva has great reflexes, in straight boxing he is not that good without the threat of the low kick in place.

In the first round, Weidman knocked Silva down with a punch and was pounding him into the ground. It appeared Silva was knocked out briefly, but a second Weidman punch woke him up. Silva was in trouble, and in a lesser fight, it could have been stopped, but he regained his bearings quickly and was able to tie Weidman up. Still, Weidman remained on top, trying can opener necklocks, landing elbows and hard punches and working for a forearm choke.

Silvas left leg appeared injured, and those in his camp believed that he may have broken his leg originally when Weidman checked a kick in the first round, before it snapped in two early in the second round, and he collapsed on the mat.

Silva was stabilized in the ring, and taken out on a stretcher. Backstage, he was screaming in terrible pain. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and they did surgery that night, inserting a titanium rod into his left tibia, with a screw inserted just below the knee joint, and two screws just above the ankle to keep the rod in place.

Dr. Steven Sanders, who did the one hour surgery, said that Silvas age would be of no bearing when it comes to the bone healing process, which he estimated at three to six months. After that, there would also be soft tissue healing that would be needed, and he would have to begin rehab. Sanders estimated that it would be six to nine months before Silva could start training. He also noted that it was extremely close to being something far worse. It was a clean break with no bone fragments, meaning easier clean-up. If the bone had stuck through the skin, the possibility for infection would have been higher. If there had been damage to arteries in the break, there would have been a chance an amputation would have been necessary. Silva was in tremendous pain after surgery, but was released from the hospital a few days later. He has made no statements about whether he would consider fighting again, but given the injury and his age, there is a good chance his career is over. If not, hes highly unlikely to get another championship fight for a long time.

Anderson is deeply touched by the outpouring of support from his fans and the entire MMA community, wrote UFC officials. 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 prepare to return home to recover.

The injury was a very somber ending to what otherwise was a home run from both an atmospheric, fight quality and business aspect. UFC 168 on 12/28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena from all accounts appears to have been one of the biggest shows in company history.

But it also means that UFC starts 2014 for the first year in history with absolutely nothing on the horizon that would appear to be a huge fight. If 2013 is any indication, there will be plenty of good fights. But huge fights, like Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz or Johny Hendricks, Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman, Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate, or Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen, there is nothing there right now. The companys two biggest draws, St-Pierre and Silva are both gone for a while, and in Silvas case, likely all year if he even decides to come back. The idea of the big superfight at a stadium is gone with Silva out of commission, since he was the key guy for either Jon Jones or St-Pierre. Even Jones vs. Cain Velasquez is almost surely not happening until 2015, since Velasquez will be out of action until late in the year after shoulder surgery.

The closest thing to a big fight is Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, and that is contingent on Jones beating Glover Teixeira and Gustafsson beating Jimi Manuwa. And even a best case scenario has that fight in the late summer. And its also a fight that only did 310,000 buys the first time around.

As improbable as this would have sounded a year ago, UFC enters 2014 with Rousey as clearly its biggest star. But she also doesnt have the right opponent. Even before beating Tate in the semifinal, Rousey was asked and agreed to defend her womens bantamweight title against Sara McMann on 2/22 in Las Vegas.

Thats a quick turnaround. But, that show needed a main event. McMann won the silver medal in wrestling at the 2004 Olympics in the 139 pound weight class and is now 7-0 as a pro. With Rousey having won a bronze medal at 154 pounds in judo in 2008, this would be UFCs first fight, male or female, matching up two Olympic medalists. The fight, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, would come right at the end of the Winter Olympics, which is a good hook for it garnering mainstream media and attention. That show will also feature Daniel Cormier vs. Rashad Evans. A match with Gilbert Melendez vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was on a UFC poster for the event and confirmed by UFC on 12/28, only to have Dana White tweet a few days later that it wasnt a done deal.

Weidmans next title defense will be against Vitor Belfort, in a battle of the two leading candidates for in-cage fighter of the year. During 2013, Weidman finished Silva twice. Belfort went 3-0, with three head kick knockouts against tough guys. He was the second person ever to finish Luke Rockhold, the second to ever finish Michael Bisping, and the first to ever knock out Dan Henderson.

That fight opens up a hornets nest of issues, because Belfort, fighting in Brazil, has been approved for testosterone replacement therapy, which appears to have played a hand in an incredible career turnaround. Belfort went 2-5 between the ages of 27 and 29, when one would normally hit their peak. And the two wins were against former pro wrestler Yoshiki Takahashi, who by that time was long past his fighting prime, and unknown British fighter Anthony Rea.