“Is this karma?” – Fans react after Chris Weidman reveals excruciating eye injury sustained in UFC Atlantic City clash against Bruno Silva

Despite returning to the octagon at UFC on ESPN 54 this past weekend and securing a victory over Bruno Silva via technical decision, Chris Weidman’s first win since 2020 was overshadowed by controversy. The bout was plagued by multiple eye pokes, including one in the finishing sequence that resulted in ‘The All-American’s TKO victory being overturned.

Despite the focus being on the middleweight champion’s tendency to poke his opponents in the eye, he also fell victim to a vicious eye poke. Days later, Weidman posted a photo of his injured eye, which was then shared by MMA Orbit on X with the following caption:

“Chris Weidman’s eye days after his #UFCAtlanticCity win over Bruno Silva 😳”

View the image below to see Chris Weidman’s eye:

Despite the brutal state of his eye, Weidman did not receive much sympathy from fans. @dylinthishoe questioned:

“is this karma?”

@What_a_Bets questioned the condition of Silva’s eyes following his numerous eye pokes during the fight.

“What about Bruno Silva’s eyes?”

Upon seeing it, @FacklamGunner deemed it the most severe eye injury he has ever witnessed.

“Subconjunctival hemorrhage. That Red Sclera looks sick. That might be the worst Ive seen 😬”

Below are the top fan responses:

“Chris Weidman Addresses Controversial Eye Poke Incident in Bruno Silva Fight”

Chris Weidman achieved his first win since 2020 and his first since suffering a gruesome leg injury, by defeating Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54. The ex-middleweight titleholder received backlash for poking Silva’s eyes multiple times during the fight. During an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘The All-American’ addressed the issue, defending his actions by saying:

“It sucks. It was unintentional. For people out there, because I’ve seen it – I haven’t looked too much, but I’ve seen it where people think that I intentionally poked him in the eye. I just want you to know that if I had the dexterity and the wherewithal, I would take my one finger and find his eyeball and poke it. Why wouldn’t I just knock him out anytime I wanted?… It’s obviously completely unintentional, and I would never think about cheating. That’s just not who I am.”

Below are Chris Weidman’s comments on the controversy surrounding the eye poke:

After the match, Weidman received backlash for his post-victory celebration. He publicly criticized Silva for falling to the ground after being poked in the eye, accusing him of not properly defending himself.