The UFC’s return to full-capacity audiences for its pay-per-view offerings has been a huge success. Sellouts, massive buyrates, and epic moments have been part of the story that has unfolded in front of ravenous swaths of fans around the United States. Unfortunately, another chapter of this illustrious story is far more dubious- and disheartening- severe injuries. A grisly injury has befallen at least one fighter on every card which has played out in front of a full crowd.

While mixed martial arts is not a sport that can exist in its current form without great risk of bodily harm to its many combatants, these incidents are noteworthy for their especially serious nature. At UFC 261 in jacksonville, Florida, on April 24, one of the most bizarre and gruesome injuries in the history of combat sports took place when former middleweight champion Chris Weidman broke his leg just seventeen seconds into a fight with Uriah Hall. The injury, which occurred because the kick was checked by Hall, occurred in an eerily comparable fashion to Anderson Silva’s broken leg in his second fight against Weidman years ago. Already aghast at the horrifying nature of the break, UFC fans were further taken aback by this fact. While Weidman targets a 2022 comeback, he has encountered complications as a result of the incident and his career does remain in doubt. Silva made it back to competition just over a year after his 2013 injury at UFC 168.

UFC 262 took place on May 15 in Houston, Texas. During the featured bout of the preliminary card, former Strikeforce champion and UFC middleweight mainstay Jacare Souza had his arm broken when he refused to tap to an Andre Muniz submission attempt. Souza, who once allowed his arm to be broken during a jiu-jitsu match so he could still win on points, did not appear significantly pained. He smiled while sharing a moment with Muniz immediately after the fight. Souza, who has a victory over Weidman on his record, does not appear intent on retiring either. The moment of the break was audible on the event’s broadcast.

The action on the UFC 263 fight card went down on June 12. In the main card opener, light heavyweight prospect Jamahal Hill sustained a badly dislocated arm after a late stoppage against Paul Craig. Hill, who was coming off a victory against a former title challenger, appeared to have a broken arm as well. He was locked into the armbar for an uncomfortably long amount of time, even after it was clear his left arm was in bad shape. Dana White was not of a favorable opinion with regard to the stoppage of the fight, which he and many fans felt should have occurred earlier.

UFC 264’s big injury is perhaps the one that needs the least introduction. The UFC’s return to Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena was to see the close of the trilogy and reignited rivalry between former lightweight belt-holders Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. With seconds to go in the first round, McGregor, the most popular star in mixed martial arts history, stepped back onto his left foot and came down awkwardly, with his tibia giving way for a sickening scene. It was perhaps the wildest possible outcome for a fiery night of fights, and the Irishman is expected to be sidelined for a year. For those who wished to see more from the trilogy bout, fear not, as McGregor has his eyes on a tetralogy. With the trilogy bringing home the second-highest buyrate in UFC history, and White saying that a fourth showdown ‘makes sense’, it is a realistic possibility that he will be obliged.

UFC 265, the second 2021 show in Houston, was not immune to the injury bug. In only the second fight on the card, women’s flyweight prospect and Contender Series contract winner Victoria Leonardo suffered a second broken right arm in as many fights. Seconds into her UFC debut in January, her right ulna was broken on a blocked kick. During her UFC 265 fight with Melissa Gatto, the same injury happened again. Between the second and third rounds, she could be heard telling her coach that her right arm ‘wasn’t working’ and that she couldn’t throw with it. Although she wanted to continue, the cageside physician determined that a break had occurred and correctly called off the bout.

With a massive Vegas card coming up in September, fight fans have to hope that this unceremonious streak of negative incidences comes to an end.