South African MMA star shatters leg during horror first-round moment

Willem Smith’s leg snapped in two during an Extreme Fighting Championship bout against Ivan Strydom.

EFC 92 got off to a frightening start on Saturday night, as the first fight ended in a horror injury for one of the competitors.

The heavyweight match-up between Willem Smith and Ivan Strydom was supposed to kick the night off with a bang, but instead the kick that ensued had a rather different effect than anticipated…

Reminiscent of the time that Anderson Silva suffered his horrendous broken leg against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, Smith threw an outside leg kick, but Strydom kept his left leg planted and after catching his opponent at an awkward angle, Smith’s leg broke instantaneously.

The South African-born fighter fell to the floor immediately, at which point the referee knew what had happened and jumped in to call off the fight before any further blows could materialise.

An EFC commentator said: “It just absolutely shattered. The leg just hanging there.

“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.

OUCH!

Shocking first fight of EFC92.

Wishing Willem Smith all the best on his road to recovery from this very unfortunate incident!#EFC92 pic.twitter.com/cfdoaQawot

“There’s only a certain type of human being that’s willing to get in there and trade and fight

An update was shared on social media after the fight of Smith in high spirits backstage, as he rested on a stretcher with Gareth McLellan.

The injury means another loss for Willem ‘the Viking’ Smith, which takes his pro record in the EFC to a disappointing 1-5.

Meanwhile, his compatriot, Ivan ‘the Hurricane’ Strydom has improved to a record of