Darren Elkins Breaks Leg in ‘Freak’ Training Injury

One of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most battle-tested veterans is facing indefinite shelf time.

UFC featherweight Darren Elkins announced via his social media that he had suffered a serious injury in practice. “The Damage” wrote on his Instagram, “Current situation: I snapped my tibia and fibula in my right leg by freak accident during jiu-jitsu last night. Just got out of surgery where they put a nail in my leg.”

There is no information right now about a potential return timeline for Elkins, but the recuperation is likely to be long; lower leg breaks suffered by such well-known fighters as Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman and Conor McGregor kept them out of action for at least a year in every case: bad news for the 39-year-old Elkins.

Elkins is coming off a third-round submission win over T.J. Brown in October in his lone outing of the year. He has gone 2-2 in his last four but remains popular for his toughness and his penchant for comeback wins. For now, he remains tied with former champ Max Holloway for the most appearances in the history of the UFC featherweight division, with 26.