Three matadors were gored in succession on Wednesday at a major event of Spain's bullfighting season. Fearing more bovine revenge, organizers canceled the remaining fights.

First to fight in the San Isidro festival was David Mora, who was knocked down by a 1,172-pound bull shortly after he opened the festivities. The bull proceeded to throw him in the air and gore him through the leg. Mora ended up with gashes in his thigh and armpit, but there's good news: According to the BBC, he's now in "serious but no longer life-threatening condition."

After the "horrific, shocking, chilling" first fight, matador Antonio Nazare took to the arena and defeated the bull that felled Mora—which, of course, means killing it. A third matador, Saul Jiminez Fortes, came in to fight another bull and continue the nationally televised show—but since it was actually Nazare who was slated to soundly defeat the second bull, he was soon brought back in.

Nazare was shortly knocked in the knees and dragged around by the second bull. He was taken to the hospital for his leg injuries, and Fortes returned to conquer the bovine menace once and for all. Fortes, too, was gored, taking injuries in his leg and pelvis but he managed to win the fight before also being taken to the hospital. After the third goring of the day, the festival's organizers finally noticed a pattern and called off the rest of the events.

The two dead bulls may not have won their personal battles. But they did get bullfighting's top festival canceled for the first time in 35 years, in an age when calls to ban the sport altogether are getting louder.

[Images via AP]