Tag: Chris Leben

Dana White: I Don’t Even Want to Talk About Cutting Chris Leben

Chris Leben has been with the UFC since the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Leben has had his share of personal and professional ups and downs during his tenure during that run. Right now he’s on the downside, losing two straight.  Ent…

Chris Leben has been with the UFC since the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Leben has had his share of personal and professional ups and downs during his tenure during that run. Right now he’s on the downside, losing two straight.  Entering UFC 162 he will look to get his career back on the upswing.

Leben last fought at UFC 155, losing via unanimous decision to Derek Brunson. The fight was not one of Leben’s better performances. He looked out of sorts, rusty and frustrated. Some of that may have been due to the fact that it was his first fight after serving a year-long drug related suspension. 

UFC president Dana White spoke about Leben’s performance in that loss, “He looked like a guy that hadn’t fought in a long time.” As for Saturday, White is hopeful that he will see the Chris Leben of old inside the Octagon, “Leben is a f****** warhorse. This guy comes in and he’s either going to kill or be killed. He’s either going to knock you out or get knocked out, that’s just his style.”

When the subject of Leben’s future with the promotion was brought up, we caught a glimpse of the side of White that isn’t displayed often in public, “Let’s see what happens on Saturday. He’s a kid that, no matter what he’s doing, I want to keep him motivated, and make it so that every day when he gets out of bed he’s a part of society, and has to have something to achieve or some goals. I always want that there for him. I don’t even want to talk about cutting Chris Leben.”

A Leben win over Andrew Craig will grant White his wish. A loss on Saturday, and Leben will have three consecutive defeats, and warhorse or not, the UFC will have a decision to make about his status with the promotion.”

 

*All quotes obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report.

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Chris Leben Talks Hall of Fame and Where He Belongs in UFC History

Since making his UFC debut back in 2005 on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris Leben has become a familiar face in the Octagon. Leben has never been one to turn down a fight, having gone up against the toughest fighters in Anderso…

Since making his UFC debut back in 2005 on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris Leben has become a familiar face in the Octagon. Leben has never been one to turn down a fight, having gone up against the toughest fighters in Anderson Silva, Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva. The “Crippler” has racked up an impressive 20 fights in the UFC to date and is looking to keep that going as he faces a hard-hitting Andrew Craig this weekend at UFC 162. 

The Ultimate Show had the chance to sit down with Chris and get his thoughts on the induction of fellow TUF cast members Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin into the HOF and where he believes his legacy lies in UFC history.

Feel free to hit us up in the comment section below!  

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Chris Leben: ‘No Yes-Men’ at Alliance MMA, Says He’s ‘Doing Everything Right’

Chris Leben faces Andrew Craig this Saturday at UFC 162. A loser in three of his past four fights, the popular and sometimes-troubled middleweight said he is better than ever heading into a pivotal bout in Las Vegas. “I truly am in the best shape …

Chris Leben faces Andrew Craig this Saturday at UFC 162. A loser in three of his past four fights, the popular and sometimes-troubled middleweight said he is better than ever heading into a pivotal bout in Las Vegas. 

“I truly am in the best shape of my life,” Leben said Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast. “Finally, for once, I’m doing everything right in and out of the cage. And I’ve got a great support group.”

It’s not exactly a groundbreaking soundbite, but there is reason to believe Leben‘s sentiment is more than pure platitude. The 32-year-old Leben (22-9) credited his current condition to a recent change in training camp. Not long ago, Leben and his wife moved to San Diego, and Leben now belongs to the Alliance MMA team. For several years before, Leben trained and coached in Hawaii. 

Leben said Monday that the Alliance team has put him through his paces—something he didn’t face too often as a top dog in his Oahu gym.

“It had been a long time since I had been a part of a hardcore training team like this,” Leben said. “I was a little bit of a lone wolf out [in Hawaii]. I had some great guys to train with, but when it came camp time, it was really just me…There’s no yes-men here.”

Leben has lost two consecutive fights: one to Mark Munoz in November 2011 and the second to Derek Brunson in December 2012. Following his loss to Munoz, Leben tested positive for oxycodone and oxymorphone and was suspended for a year. It was the second failed drug test and suspension of Leben‘s career.

As a result of his checkered background, Leben said the Alliance team—which includes standouts like UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Bellator lightweight beltholder Michael Chandler—was initially leery about Leben‘s membership. But Leben said he is back on the straight and narrow and has earned the team’s trust.

“They started pushing me hard, and they continue to push me hard,” Leben said. “It really forced me to clean my act up even more.” 

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UFC 162: The 8 Unforgettable Moments of Anderson Silva’s Career

UFC 162 provides Anderson Silva an opportunity to add yet another unforgettable moment to his epic career.So much has been said about Anderson again and again. We all know what is at stake at UFC 162, and we continue to hear pundits and fans consider t…

UFC 162 provides Anderson Silva an opportunity to add yet another unforgettable moment to his epic career.

So much has been said about Anderson again and again. We all know what is at stake at UFC 162, and we continue to hear pundits and fans consider the endless possibilities right up to the opening bell. So instead of knocking readers over the head with more opinion, or trying to entice with “a new angle”, let’s simply sit back and appreciate some of the moments Anderson Silva has given us as fans. 

Whether you love him, hate him, consider him No. 1 or No. 2 of all time, no matter how often he is the center of your arguments for or against, Anderson Silva has had some of MMA‘s most amazing moments. It is time to appreciate those moments as fans of the sport we all cherish. It is time to appreciate the accomplishments of a man who has made himself something more—a legend.

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UFC 162 Video Preview: Chris Leben Breaks Down Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Chris Leben knows a thing or two about Anderson Silva. After all, it was Leben who welcomed Silva to the promotion back in June 2006. Leben talked a good game before that fight, saying during his pre-fight interview, “After he gets in there with …

Chris Leben knows a thing or two about Anderson Silva. After all, it was Leben who welcomed Silva to the promotion back in June 2006.

Leben talked a good game before that fight, saying during his pre-fight interview, “After he gets in there with me and I knock him out, he may want to go back to Japan or somewhere where the competition is a little easier.”

Forty-nine seconds after the fight began, Silva had his first win in the UFC and has never looked back. Including the victory over Leben, Silva has run off a UFC record 16 consecutive wins in the UFC. Ten of those victories have been UFC middleweight title defenses, another promotional record. 

Leben and Silva will both compete at UFC 162. Leben will face Andrew Craig on the preliminary card portion of the show. Silva will put his crown on the line against Chris Weidman in the main event.

Leben recently took some time to discuss the headlining bout on the July 6 card, and it appears that he was not one of the fighters UFC president Dana White spoke to about the fight between Silva and Weidman.

White recently proclaimed, via Mike Bohn of MMAMania.com, “All the pros, when you talk to all the fighters – every fighter out there that I’ve talked too that we’ve interviewed thinks Weidman is going to beat him [Silva]. Georges St. Pierre thinks he’s going to win so much that he didn’t even want to plan to fight Anderson.”

UFC 162 will take place on July 6 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

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Pressure on Chris Leben to Deliver a Classic Leben Performance at UFC 162

Chris Leben will face Andrew Craig at UFC 162, and if we are to believe “The Crippler,” he’s feeling recharged and ready to get back in the Octagon. That’s all well and good, but we’ve heard this kind of talk from Leben be…

Chris Leben will face Andrew Craig at UFC 162, and if we are to believe “The Crippler,” he’s feeling recharged and ready to get back in the Octagon.

That’s all well and good, but we’ve heard this kind of talk from Leben before. With a record of 1-3 in his last four fights, the UFC is going to want more than words from Leben when he steps into the Octagon in July.

Words are nice. They get the fans pumped up and put butts in the seats, but Leben gets paid for actions inside the Octagon, not talk outside the cage.

Leben recently appeared on MMAJunkie radio and told the hosts:

With the new gym (Alliance in San Diego) and sticking to my diet and actually walking the line, I feel 10 years younger now than when I was competing earlier. I’m performing better in the gym and we hopefully get to have that transfer over come (fight) night. I don’t see myself hanging my hat up anytime soon.

Hold that thought and rewind to September 2012. Leben was coming off of a long layoff following a drug-related suspension and a stint in rehab when he told the same radio show, “I’m a little bummed out for Karlos Vemola because I know he’s lost his last couple, and now he’s getting a fresh reborn Chris Leben, which is going to be a bit tough for him.”

Leben never got the chance to show Vemola the fresh and reborn version of himself, as Vemola was injured and forced from the card. Instead Leben faced Derek Brunson at UFC 155. The fight was largely uneventful. Brunson and Leben both looked tired and sloppy throughout the 15-minute bout. 

Neither fighter did much of anything in the fight, but Brunson did enough to earn the unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). After the fight, Leben proved less than gracious in defeat:

Leben is a popular fighter with fans and the UFC brass, and it’s easy to understand why he falls into that group of fighters that always looks to entertain. Leben always looks to bring the fight, sometimes at the expense of his personal well being—well, at least he did until UFC 155.

Leben most likely used up his free pass from the UFC in the Brunson fight. I would venture to guess that he also used up a considerable amount of good will from the fans too, delivering a lackluster performance and following that up with excuses.

You can bet the UFC will be watching Leben’s performance at UFC 162 very closely due to his performance against Brunson, his recent record and his salary.

Anything less than a classic Leben performance and he could be facing some questions regarding his future employment. That is a fact that Leben is obviously aware of, telling MMAJunkie, “I have to go out and make a statement, and that’s what I plan to do.”

That statement will need to be made not with words, but with actions and at the expense of Andrew Craig on July 6 in Las Vegas.

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