Jamie Varner suffers ankle injury at UFC 173; cageside doctor steps on foot

LAS VEGAS – There’s adding insult to injury, and then there’s adding injury to injury.

Jamie Varner suffered a brutal break of his left ankle in the first round of his fight against James Krause on Saturday night at UFC 173.

But the former WEC lightweight champion kept soldiering on, throwing punches at his opponent – even as his leg continued to buckle. He even appeared to be close to having Krause in trouble on the feet.

But by the end of the first round, Varner was on the canvas saying his ankle was broken, and that was the end of the fight.

But as Varner got to the stool, just after the fight had been called off, giving Krause a TKO win, the cageside doctor accidentally stepped on his left foot, and Varner grimaced in more pain.

Krause (21-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) got back in the win column. But Varner (21-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) now faces an uncertain recovery time thanks to the injury, which had the thousands of fans at MGM Grand Garden Arena groaning in unison as the slow-motion replays were shown.

For the latest on UFC 173, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.