UFC 168 medical suspensions: Anderson Silva among four with potential six-month terms

Not surprisingly, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva leads the list of fighters issued medical suspensions following UFC 168.

Silva suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in the history of the sport when he broke his left leg kicking champion Chris Weidman in the second round of the main event. Silva left the octagon on a stretcher and was taken immediately to a hospital to undergo surgery.

Silva will be out for six months and must have his leg cleared by a doctor, according to medical suspensions received today from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversaw this past Saturday’s UFC 168 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

According to a statement released by the UFC, the timetable for Silva’s rehab from the badly broken leg is three to six months.

Other fighters who could be looking at potential six-month terms are main-card heavyweight Josh Barnett, who was stopped by Travis Browne in 60 seconds with vicious elbows. The former champ will need to have a right facial fracture cleared if he wants to return sooner than the end of next June. Dustin Poirier, who stopped Diego Brandao in the first round, will need his right shoulder cleared. And preliminary-card fighter Manny Gamburyan, who lost to Dennis Siver, will need an MRI of his left knee cleared.

The complete list of UFC 167 medical suspensions includes:

• Anderson Silva: must have broken left leg cleared by doctor or no contest until 06/27/14
• Josh Barnett: suspended with no contact until 02/26/14; additionally, must have right facial fracture cleared by doctor or no contest until 06/27/14.
• Dustin Poirier: suspended until 01/27/14 with no contact until 01/18/14; additionally must have right shoulder cleared by doctor or no contest until 06/27/14.
• Diego Brandao: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14.
• Chris Leben: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14 due to facial lacerations.
• Gleison Tibau: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14 due to cut on right cheek.
• Dennis Siver: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14 due to scalp lacerations.
• Manny Gamburyan: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14; additionally must have MRI of left knee and be cleared by doctor or no contest until 06/28/14.
• William Macario: must have right hand cleared by doctor or no contest until 06/28/14.
• Bobby Voelker: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14 due to facial and scalp lacerations.
• Estevan Payan: suspended until 02/11/14 with no contact until 01/27/14

For complete coverage of UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Anderson Silva)