Let me be clear, putting me in the Octagon would be like putting Nick Diaz in a spelling bee: Brief, ugly and embarrassing for all.
Therefore, it is with no little trepidation that I try to evaluate opportunities for improvement in Chris Leben’s UFC 138 performance.
For what it is worth, here is where I think Chris Leben went wrong.
Impatience
Chris went for a guillotine from half guard early in the first round. It is easy to defend a guillotine from half guard and, as Joe Rogan repeatedly said during the fight, guillotines are resource intensive. They wear your arms out.
Rather than go for a finish here, that he could not get, he probably should have worked for full guard where the technique had a higher probability of success.
After wall-walking back to his feet, Chris took Munoz down. Unfortunately, rather than secure a dominant position, Leben took a couple swings while Munoz worked his way back to his feet.
The round saw yet another takedown by Leben but, again, he went for a front choke, trying to finish the fight rather than securing a position on top of Munoz, where he could have done some real damage.
Later in the round, Leben jumped half guard to attempt a guillotine (yes, again) rather than dragging Munoz to the mat and climbing on top of him, or swinging him into the cage and working there. The result was that Munoz ended up on top dropping bombs.
After getting back to his feet, Leben once again got hold of Munoz’s neck and dragged him to the mat. What did he do when he got there? You guessed it; he opted to put the squeeze on Munoz rather than working positional control.
The Crippler could have done more damage, and been fresher himself going into the second round, had he not insisted on trying to finish the fight at every turn.
The second round looked much like a bloody version of the first. Leben worked Munoz to the ground via a neck hold and squeezed like crazy rather than go for side control or mount.
Later, Leben would yet again get a chance at position on Munoz, but, in the attempt to finish via guillotine, Munoz reversed.
In addition to slowing down in the Octagon, Leben should step back and exercise more patience during training. He still flares his elbows and throws wide punches, which are much easier to avoid then more technical shots.
Further, he should fight like the southpaw that he is. He should keep his right hand high for countering his opponent’s jab and circle right more to set up the left.
Chris Leben has two big gifts, an iron chin and finishing power in his hands. Imagine what he could do if he was more technical and not always looking for the quick finish.
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