‘You can hear it snap’: Fans in disbelief as UFC star Jacare seen SMILING after rival breaks his arm in gruesome finish (VIDEO)

Former middleweight contender Ronald 'Jacare' Souza suffered a potential career-ending horror injury when fellow Brazilian Andre Muniz snapped his arm with a vicious first-round armbar on the UFC 262 undercard on Saturday night.

Falling to 26-10, the 41-year-old had started well by landing some significant strikes on his younger foe.

He also managed a brief takedown, but when Muniz managed to regroup and use his own grappling skills, he then took the veteran down several times.

Jumping on Jacare's back and attempting the trademark judo and jiu-jitsu rear-naked choke, he was shaken off but then managed to get a hold of his opponent's arm.

Sitting back with it in his grasp, Souza's arm then snapped and the bout was immediately called off.

Improving his record to 21-4, this was undoubtedly the biggest scalp of Munoz's career as nobody had ever submitted the widely-respected Jacare in mixed martial arts. 

Now on a four-loss record streak, Jacare's days are numbered in the sport's top championship.

Just like Tony Ferguson - who fell to a trio of defeats on the same card when losing to Beneil Dariush by unanimous decision, while also apparently having his leg snapped by a younger foe - the Espirito Santo native has aged terribly and missed his window to become the ruler of division.

Going on a run of eight wins from the springs of 2012 to 2015, he threw away a shot at champion back then Luke Rockhold when beaten by Yoel Romero at UFC 194 as Rochhold dethroned Chris Weidman via TKO on the same evening.

Embarking on a miserable voyage of seven losses and just four victories since then, a knockout of Weidman at UFC 230 was a false alarm for Jacare that paved the way for his current quartet of nights to forget.

Considering the leg snap the American suffered at UFC 261 against Uriah Hall last month too - which had echoes of that Anderson Silva experienced against Weidman in 2013 - he and Weidman can now share stories of horror injuries.

Taking to Twitter to address the latest scare, Weidman admitted: "Oh man. I can’t watch this. Feel terrible for Jacare."

Bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling replied: "Wild, man. Wild!", and another fan suggested that he, Souza and Silva "should start a support group".

"Bro that wasn’t nearly as bad as yours," pointed out another fan.

"It’s still bad, though. He’s 41 and probably won’t fight again after that," someone predicted in reply.

"I think it’s time for Jacare to hang it up. Nothing left to prove. Unless it’s a money issue, he shouldn’t fight anymore," it was commented, and also tipped that president Dana White "is going to release him in the next few days".

"It is sad that fighters don’t know when to say when. Damage is real and permanent. With a name like Jacare there are other ways to make money," a concerned party highlighted.

As one punter butted in, though, Souza has one fight left on an eight bout deal, and then it is probably curtains for him at the top table. 

Regarding the arm break itself, users online filled reply sections with a litany of vomit emojis and wincing memes over the cracking sound it made. 

"Holy sh*t that was nasty," said one.

While others complimented "savage" Souza for not tapping out "like a champion".

Speaking to Brazilian broadcaster Combate post-fight, Muniz said: "First of all I want to say that I am a fan of Jacare's, and have had photos with him since I was a child."

"When I saw that his arm snapped, I let go of it immediately, because I come from a jiu-jitsu background and I didn't want to hurt him.

"It's a victory that I'll keep [in my memory] forever. Now I want a top 15 [fighter]," he demanded.