Ex-UFC champ Tim Sylvia suffers gruesome infection in arm broken by Frank Mir 16 years ago as screws come loose

FORMER UFC champ Tim Sylvia has taken to social media to show his gruesome arm injury from a fight 16 years ago.

Sylvia had his arm broken at UFC 48 in a heavyweight clash with Frank Mir in 2004.

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The arm has now become horribly infected as screws put in to hold it together work themselves free.

He hoped UFC chiefs will pay to repair the damage but they have washed their hands of it.

He now faces a bill of £8,000 to fix it.

With the vacant UFC heavyweight title on the line, Mir famously broke Sylvia’s arm with an armbar just 50 SECONDS into their title fight.

Sylvia refused to tap out, but referee Herb Dean saw the limb was compromised and stopped the bout.

Even now, it is remembered as one of the most visual examples of a broken limb that UFC fans have seen inside the octagon.

Sixteen years on and Sylvia, now 44, is essentially retired, having not fought since 2013.

Although he might not be an active fighter these days, he still carries the scars - and pain - of his days in the octagon.

The former UFC heavyweight champion posted a photo of his famous broken arm, showing how the screws put in it all those years ago are now leaking out.

According to Sylvia, the UFC will not cover the costs of fixing his arm.

He said on Instagram: "So my arm been giving me problems for over a year now. The screws are backing out from my arm break when i fought @thefrankmir my dr.

"Contacted the @ufc cause it was paid for by them the first time. Sort of under workman’s comp.

"The ufc says it’s not there problem and will not cover it. I don’t have insurance and it’s going to cost well over 10,000 dollars to get fixed. Any thoughts on what i should do?"