The world of mixed martial arts got to witness a gruesome battle in the third bout of the early prelims section of UFC 315. Marc-Andre Barriault gave Bruno Silva his first-ever knockout defeat as his elbows dropped ‘Blindado’ in just under 1.5 minutes. However, the concerns were real. The Canadian’s barbaric elbows smashed Silva right on his temple. The Brazilian fell down head-first and had to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher! And now, the MMA journalists have come forth with updates that further raise the concerns regarding the fighter who once took Alex Pereira to a decision.

Ben Davis took to X and shared the footage where the Canadian’s elbow connected and appeared to create a dent in the Brazilian’s head. He also ate some powerful follow-up shots until the fight was called off. Needless to say, getting smashed in the temple is as dangerous as it could get. One could get a hemorrhage due to snapped blood vessels, which might lead to the loss of life if not treated in time. We have already seen such an example when Irish boxer John Cooney lost his life after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage in February.

So when Davis put the spotlight on Silva’s skull, MMA fans were concerned. He wrote, “His skull was DENTED?!?” Veteran MMA journalist Luke Thomas reacted to it and wrote, “That seems concerning.” However, the brutal finish didn’t make Barriault happy either. “I still have goosebumps. I realized he was still on the ground after a couple of minutes. Then I felt like something is wrong,” the Canadian said in the post-fight press conference. The sheer brutality even left him feeling squeamish.

But in a follow-up tweet, Luke Thomas had an important update: “UFC broadcast gives medical update: Bruno Silva is alert and had movement in his extremities, but is complaining about neck pain. He’ll be given a scan of his face, neck, and other areas.” For a lot of combat enthusiasts, this fight reminded them of Bellator 158 when Michael ‘Venom’ Page broke Cyborg Santos’ cranium with a scary flying knee back in 2016. It was a life-threatening injury, and he needed immediate surgery. While Santos made a full recovery, he had to retire.

So soon after the updates dropped on the social media platform, fight fans took over the comments section to express their thoughts. For the uninitiated, the Octagon has seen brutal injuries over the years. From Mirko Cro Cop’s scary head kick knockout to Anderson Silva’s leg break, we have seen it all! However, Dana White’s promotion has never seen a death inside the cage. And by the looks of the latest KO, it seemed that it was pretty close.

The MMA world raises concerns for Bruno Silva after UFC 315!

One fan seemed to have noted Barriault’s elbow pushing in Silva’s skull. They claimed that the Brazilian middleweight definitely had a “Fractured skull.” Another fan claimed, “I thought I was seeing things until I saw the replay. To get eye poked by Weidman and now head dented in is hard to see.”

Seeing Silva on a stretcher worried his fans. This is his fifth back-to-back loss under the promotion, but none of the previous four losses were this bad. However, the fight result is not a concern right now. It is his health that’s the main cause of fear. He was taken to a local hospital in Montreal, where he complained about neck pain. So the hospital conducted a scan of the head, face, and neck as a precautionary measure. All X-rays came back negative, as per updates available. One fan weighed in and wrote, “It did holy s–t. Def expect to see X-rays for it soon.” Another fan simply branded the smash as brutal reality. “That was a skull buster.”

The fighter was released from the hospital Saturday night, as per his manager.

Replays of the incident showed that Barriault launched an elbow to Silva’s head, who did his best to defend himself while against the cage. That violence continued until Silva slumped down to the canvas and the referee stopped the fight. So, some of the fans pointed out that having a fighter almost lose his life in the Octagon was pretty crazy. The comment read, “That’s gonna leave a mark..UFC 315.” Meanwhile, some fans had some complaints regarding the incident. One fan wrote, “Despite this, the broadcast didn’t mention that when they just gave an update. Said he was complaining of neck pain, though.”

Another fan pointed out the dangers of 12-6 elbows. The fan commented, “Was it a mistake to legalise 12-6 elbows? They can do way more damage than this.” 

What are your thoughts on the damage that Bruno Silva sustained at UFC 315? Do you think Dana White and Co. will take some drastic measures to prevent any further incidents like this? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.

UPDATE: Silva took to his Instagram stories hours later and wrote a note for his fans in Portuguese. (H/T Bloody Elbow for translation). “Good night, just passing to let you know that I’m fine. I went to the hospital and had tests, everything is fine with my health. … I received a lot of messages from people who really like me, it was fine, I wanted to win to give my testimony, from everything I went through and managed to stand up, but it’s worth living,” the Brazilian wrote. “I am a victor this is not the moment that will end my story and my legacy.”