UFC 261: Chris Weidman breaks leg while kicking opponent Uriah Hall

Bout was immediately waved off before the former middleweight champion was carried out of the Octagon on a stretcher

Chris Weidman was taken to hospital and will undergo surgery tomorrow (Getty Images)

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman suffered a broken leg during his UFC 261 clash with Uriah Hall on Saturday night.

Weidman (15-6), who defeated Hall (17-9) via first-round knockout in 2010 before either fighter had made it to the UFC, was himself stopped in the first round of the pair’s rematch, sustaining a nasty injury just 17 seconds in.

Weidman threw a leg kick, which Hall checked, and the American immediately fell to the mat in agony, his leg seemingly having snapped at the shin.

The contest was at once waved off, with Hall declared the winner.

Hall was unable to bring himself to watch as Weidman was treated, before the former champion was carried out of the Octagon on a stretcher.

He was taken to a local hospital and will undergo surgery on Sunday, per UFC host Megan Olivi.

Bizarrely, Weidman was on the other end of an almost identical stoppage in 2013.

Having won the UFC middleweight title from the legendary Anderson Silva, Weidman defeated the Brazilian again in the pair’s rematch, with Silva’s leg breaking as Weidman checked a leg kick in the second round.

Weidman’s defeat by Hall was in fact the second result at UFC 261 to end due to a leg injury. In the evening’s previous contest, Australian Jimmy Crute was unable to continue after the first round, having been hit with an effective leg kick by opponent Anthony Smith in the first five minutes.

UFC 261 marked the first UFC card to be held in front of a full house in more than a year. A full-capacity Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, hosted 15,000 fans.