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Rio leg break victim's incredible MMA career move

The gymnast at the centre of the most gruesome moment of Rio 2016 has sensationally declared he will be attempting a career in MMA after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Samir Ait Said produced one the most enduring moments of the Rio Olympics when he suffered a double leg break when his dismount from the vault went horribly wrong.

The Frenchman's lower left leg was left dangling at right angles to his upper leg, with spectators and TV viewers witnessing the horror live.

The 27-year-old had his Olympic dream shattered, but has since made a spine-tingling return to competition over 12 months since his horror accident.

But now, he's looking ahead, saying he wants to follow in the footsteps of his hero Georges St. Pierre, who will be returning to the Octagon to fight Michael Bisping at UFC 217 on November 5 (AEDT).

"After my career, I [will] go to MMA," Said told Deadspin.

Said was immediately hospitalised. Image: Getty
Said was immediately hospitalised. Image: Getty

The courageous athlete has been training in MMA both for fun, and to develop "whole body" conditioning to assist him in gymnastics.

In terms of injury risk, the Said revealed he's got far greater problems in gymnastics.

"I [was] never injured in boxing. Sometimes my knees, yeah, okay, but not like this," he said, pointing to a surgically repaired leg.

Incredibly, his coach supports his ventures into the sometimes-dangerous sport.

"For his cardio development, it’s very good because he must lose some kilos," his coach Rodolphe Bouché said.

Incredibly, Said returned to gymnastics in September after his heartbreaking Olympics injury, competing in the Paris Challenge Cup, the final competitive tune-up before next month’s World Championships in Montreal.

Said only competed in the rings event, steering clear of the vault for now, nailing his dismount to the delight of the crowd.

What a moment! Image: Twitter
What a moment! Image: Twitter

As you can see in the video above, those in attendance absolutely erupted as he landed perfectly before breaking out into a massive grin and raising his arms triumphantly.

Said ended up placing second behind world champion Eleftherios Petrounias - not bad for your first competition in 13 months.