In order to illustrate a point about how his own career could end at any moment, in any fight, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic recently used former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva as an example. Silva, of course, had a leg broken in half late last year by Chris Weidman in their UFC 168 title main event.

Silva may be kicking on that injured leg again and recovering well, physically, but "Cro Cop" believes that the psychological damage will be more lasting.

"I heard, thank God, he's recovering, but it'll always leave a scar in his mind," the Croatian kick boxer said.

"He will never be the same fighter. He'll never. I really like and respect and admire him, but I don't think he will ever be 100 percent the old Anderson Silva. It was a terrible injury. He'll always start thinking, what if it happens again? But that's the name of the game. You cannot avoid it. Sometimes it just happens."

Silva himself recently acknowledged the mental challenge of throwing kicks again in an interview with Brazilian outlet UOL. As expected, however, he is more optimistic about his abilities to meet that challenge than "Cro Cop" is.

"Now is the time to overcome the fear and slowly get there," Silva said.

"I have much further to go, but I am confident and happy with the initial results." Have you ever dealt with the psychological effects of a physical injury? Tell us about it in the comments section.

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