Remember the broken leg curse of 2021? It is still in full effect in 2022.
Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) held its most recent event — EFC 92 on Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa — and the first fight of the night was between Willem Smith and Ivan Strydom. The fight ended rather quickly, but not because of a vicious knockout that we have come to expect whenever heavyweights meet inside of a cage.
As both men squared up in the center during the opening round, Smith threw a left hand followed by a low kick to the left leg of Strydom. The kick was checked, and the ‘Viking’ suddenly crumbled to the canvas. The reason? His right leg snapped in two.
Strydom went to deliver some follow-up punches but immediately realized his opponent was injured, evidenced by his now-drooping leg. The referee rushed in and waved the fight off.
You can see the finish below, courtesy of the EFC Worldwide Twitter account:
Warning: Video below is graphic. Please proceed with caution.
“It just absolutely shattered. The leg just hanging there,” said one of the EFC commentators while watching the instant replay. “This sport, you’re reminded all too often how serious this sport really is and it’s moments like this that kind of remind you that they’re not playing around in there. There’s only a certain type of human being that’s willing to get in there and trade and fight inside of a cage. Unfortunately, things like this happen.”
There has since been a positive update on Smith, who was photographed backstage on a stretcher giving a thumbs up with fellow EFC fighter, Garreth ’Soldierboy’ Mclellan. The 42-year-old has fallen to 1-5 as a professional.
Strydom has improved to 2-4 and is now on a two-fight win streak, which includes a first-round technical knockout of Given Majuba at EFC 79 nearly two years ago.