Chris Leben has been a controversial figure from the minute he stepped into The Ultimate Fighter 1 house many years ago. He has continued to be a controversial figure even into his recent retirement.
In a recent post from mmaoddsbreaker.com, …
Chris Leben has been a controversial figure from the minute he stepped into The Ultimate Fighter 1 house many years ago. He has continued to be a controversial figure even into his recent retirement.
In a recent post from mmaoddsbreaker.com, Leben spoke with fellow UFC vet Frank Trigg. He opened up about his drug-riddled past, which has diminished the great amount of money “The Crippler” made with the UFC.
It really is better now. The bottom line is, especially with all the illegal drugs, I was spending all the money I was making anyways. Six in one, half dozen in the other. I used to fight, the way I fought, I didn’t give a shit. ‘Fuck this, I could die tomorrow, let’s go out there and I’m gonna fucking kill this guy!’ That fire, I’d be lying if I said that fire was still in me these past couple fights. It hasn’t been. I hate to admit it, but shit’s going okay at home. My life’s alright. I’m a lot more of a mellow guy. Just getting older I guess. I don’t even know. I don’t know how to explain it.
This revelation should come as no surprise, as Leben has tested positive for illegal substances in post-fight drug tests.
In 2008, Leben tested positive for Stanozolol following a unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the headliner of UFC 89. He was suspended for nine months, as well as fined one-third of his fight purse.
That was not the last of Leben’s troubles.
In 2011, Leben was suspended for one year in the aftermath of a stoppage loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138. In that bout, he tested positive for oxymorphone and oxycodone.
Saying that he blew most of his money on drugs is astonishing to hear, though, as Leben was a well-paid fighter who threw down in the Octagon 22 times. In those 22 fights, Leben earned four Knockout of the Night and two Fight of the Night bonus checks that brought him home a little extra money.
Although that is an unfortunate thing to hear, at least Leben has said that now things are going better and that he’s mellowed out. From freaking out on TUF 1 to giving UFC fans their money’s worth in the cage, the eccentric fighter has had his ups and downs.
Here’s to hoping Leben continues to stay clean and away from drugs.
(Leben celebrates his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 in July 2011. It would be his last victory pose in the UFC. / Photo via Getty)
The last time we saw Chris Leben, he was telling his cornermen “I’m done” after a round’s worth of abuse by Uriah Hall at UFC 168. As it turns out, he wasn’t just done for the night — he was done, period. The TKO loss was Leben’s fourth straight defeat in the UFC, and it finally convinced him that there might be more to life than getting kicked in the head for a living.
“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride,” Leben said. “I’ve landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I’m starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things.
“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and re-evaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I’ve really retired from competing in MMA…
“I’m 33 years old now, which isn’t the oldest for a fighter. But like I tell people, it’s not how old you are, but it’s how long you’ve been doing it. And I’ve been doing this game for quite a while.
“I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. I would like to still have my head on my shoulders and have a brain when I’m raising kids and doing all the other stuff that I want to be part of. I think it might just be time for me to gracefully bow out.”
Leben, who recently took a job as a coach at Victory MMA & Fitness in San Diego, discussed how his fight against Uriah Hall was a harsh reminder that he’d gone as far in the sport as his skills would allow him, and could no longer be competitive on toughness alone:
(Leben celebrates his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 in July 2011. It would be his last victory pose in the UFC. / Photo via Getty)
The last time we saw Chris Leben, he was telling his cornermen “I’m done” after a round’s worth of abuse by Uriah Hall at UFC 168. As it turns out, he wasn’t just done for the night — he was done, period. The TKO loss was Leben’s fourth straight defeat in the UFC, and it finally convinced him that there might be more to life than getting kicked in the head for a living.
“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride,” Leben said. “I’ve landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I’m starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things.
“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and re-evaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I’ve really retired from competing in MMA…
“I’m 33 years old now, which isn’t the oldest for a fighter. But like I tell people, it’s not how old you are, but it’s how long you’ve been doing it. And I’ve been doing this game for quite a while.
“I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. I would like to still have my head on my shoulders and have a brain when I’m raising kids and doing all the other stuff that I want to be part of. I think it might just be time for me to gracefully bow out.”
Leben, who recently took a job as a coach at Victory MMA & Fitness in San Diego, discussed how his fight against Uriah Hall was a harsh reminder that he’d gone as far in the sport as his skills would allow him, and could no longer be competitive on toughness alone:
“That first five minutes was just absolutely horrible,” he said. “It was more of the same, as far as what my last couple opponents have been doing, to where nobody really wants to — and I understand why — but they’re not going to stand in front of me, toe to toe, and just swing like guys used to try before. Now I’ve got a guy with six or nine inches of reach advantage that’s definitely a better athlete than I am, that’s running away from me as fast as he can and is only going to hit me with these little shots. It was one of those things where, personally, I knew the only thing that was going to happen was two more rounds of that, until he really got me upset and I was rushing in and he hit me with that crazy spinning kick that he does…
“I really can’t be upset. I’ve had a wonderful career. And again, I didn’t start fighting until I was 21 years old. Back then you could actually get in the UFC, win and do well, just on being a tough guy. I was a tough guy, I had some techniques, and that always worked for me. But when you look at these guys now, like Uriah Hall, they’re just a different breed of athlete than I am. The game has been evolving and changing so much, so rapidly, that I’m actually pretty happy that I can say I was in it for as long as I was in it.”
Chris Leben’s lasting popularity is a lesson in what MMA fans value. He was a brawler, known for his powerful left hand, his granite chin, and his colorful hair. As the first “crazy drunk guy” on The Ultimate Fighter, he was arguably MMA’s first reality-television star, and the blueprint for all the inferior crazy drunk guys on TUF who followed him. (Sorry, but Junie Browning and Julian Lane aren’t fit to hold the Cat Smasher’s jock.)
If you only look at Leben’s highlights, his career comes damn near close to legendary. He was the first WEC middleweight champion, a title he earned by knocking out Mike Swick in 2004. He won his first five official fights in the UFC, then launched Anderson Silva’s career by getting his ass kicked by the Spider in a middleweight title eliminator. Leben appeared on the first six UFC Fight Night cards, helping to build that sub-brand on Spike TV. He knocked out Terry Martin while basically unconscious. He submitted Yoshiro Akiyama in an epic match at UFC 116, just two weeks after knocking out Aaron Simpson. He KO’d his hero Wanderlei Silva in just 27 seconds.
But to say that Leben “had his demons” would be a profound understatement. He struggled with addiction, and managed to cross off almost every box on the MMA fuck-up checklist. DUIs? Yep. Steroids? Uh-huh. Unapproved painkillers? Indeed. Bizarre excuses related to candy consumption? Oh yeah. After every self-imposed setback, Leben would claim that he had finally matured and was now in the best physical and mental shape of his life, which would lead directly into the next fuck-up. It made him an incredibly frustrating fighter to be a fan of.
After Leben’s split-decision loss to Andrew Craig at UFC 162 last July, UFC president Dana White was unsure whether to keep him in the company or not. If Leben was just another mid-level 185′er, three straight losses would have almost guaranteed his release. But White felt a kind of paternalistic loyalty to Leben, along with some fear of what might happen to him if he lost his spot in the UFC:
“I want Leben to get up everyday and be part of society and have to do something, whether it’s training or training other people, no matter what is” [White] said. “Chris Leben has the type of personality that can go off the deep very easily in a lot of negative ways. I really care about the kid. I like him a lot. I love him. So I’ve got to figure this thing out.”
The UFC decided to give Leben one more match against Uriah Hall this past December, and the Crippler essentially quit mid-fight rather than absorb more brain trauma. As honorable and logical as that decision was, it’s something he never would have done five years ago. Clearly, Leben doesn’t want it anymore, which is the best reason to retire. And instead of forcing Dana White to publicly fire one of his most beloved employees, Leben is stepping away on his own terms.
With his UFC fame and reputation for hard-nosed performances, Chris Leben could have continued to draw crowds by sacrificing his body in smaller promotions; luckily, we don’t have to witness that. The era of getting by on toughness alone is over. Let’s remember it fondly.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben, an often underappreciated pioneer of the UFC, has officially retired from MMA.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 star had been mulling over his next move after dropping his fourth consecutive loss to Uriah Hall at UF…
Chris “The Crippler” Leben, an often underappreciated pioneer of the UFC, has officially retired from MMA.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 star had been mulling over his next move after dropping his fourth consecutive loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 168. During an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Leben announced that he would be hanging up the gloves for good:
After [the Hall fight], I wanted to go back and reevaluate things and make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say I’ve retired from competing in MMA.
Leben won’t be remembered as a champion or even a title contender. Hell, it would be far-fetched to even consider him a Hall of Famer.
But his importance to MMA is no less than any all-time great that ever stepped through the Octagon door. The original TUF season turned a mildly relevant sport into the fastest growing sport in the world. Leben’s name will be forever etched with the likes of Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian and others.
Despite never climbing to the top of the middleweight division, Leben has enjoyed several big moments in the UFC.
After making his debut in April 2005, he went on a five-fight win streak before earning a No. 1 contender’s bout against Anderson Silva. He would go on to lose that fight by TKO in the first round. Still, how many people in this world get to say they’ve competed against arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history?
Then there was Leben’s July 2010 fight against middleweight contender Yoshihiro Akiyama. A few days after knocking out Aaron Simpson, Leben was on the couch drinking beer and eating pizza when the UFC called and offered him the Akiyama fight on two weeks’ notice.
Being the red-headed daredevil that he was, Leben accepted the fight and went on to submit Akiyama in a “Fight of the Night” performance.
While the win over Akiyama was a major feather in his cap, Leben recalled his knockout victory over his hero Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 as the best moment of his career:
Wanderlei has always been my hero, said Leben. When I started fighting, I used to walk two miles down to the store where I could buy these bootleg Pride videos and watch Wanderlei fight and watching him is really what got my into the sport. So that win over Wanderlei, probably for me, that was the icing on the cake.
For Leben, the decision to retire was more of a realization of the evolution of MMA. The current generation of fighters are world class athletes skilled in all aspects of fighting. Long gone are the days when you could make a run in the UFC just on being a tough guy:
I’ve had a wonderful career, said Leben. And again, I didn’t start fighting until I was 21 years old. Back then you could actually get in the UFC, win and do well, just on being a tough guy. I was a tough guy, I had some techniques and stuff, and that always worked for me. But when you look at these guys now, like Uriah Hall, they’re just a different breed of athlete than I am. The game has been evolving and changing so much, so rapidly, that I’m actually pretty happy that I can say I was in it for as long as I was in it.
Leben may be retiring from MMA competition, but he has no plans of leaving the sport entirely. He plans on sticking around as a coach at Alliance MMA and helping guide the careers of other young fighters.
Nothing in this world hits as hard as life, and Leben has certainly dealt with his fair share of troubles over the course of his 12-year career.
But in the face of overwhelming odds, he can finally ride off into the sunset with a bright smile across his face, knowing he left behind a legacy that will be remembered for years to come.
Blessed with concrete hands and an iron chin, UFC veteran Chris Leben has been one of the most entertaining Octagon fighters of all time.
Now while his 12-10 promotional record isn’t mind blowing, it was Leben’s ability to go toe-to-toe with anybody in…
Blessed with concrete hands and an iron chin, UFC veteran Chris Leben has been one of the most entertaining Octagon fighters of all time.
Now while his 12-10 promotional record isn’t mind blowing, it was Leben’s ability to go toe-to-toe with anybody in the middleweight division that made him such a fan favorite.
But on the heels of his fourth straight loss and a slew of personal drug problems, “The Crippler” seems to have finally met his match.
It’s unfortunate for fans who grew accustomed to seeing the 33-year-old tuck his chin, grit his teeth and swing for the fences, but the carnage was never going to last forever.
While his retirement from the cage isn’t official, this recent Twitter post suggests Leben is most likely walking away:
As a mainstay in the middleweight division for over eight years, Leben has been one of the UFC’s most consistent fighters.
He has served as a great ambassador for the sport throughout its prolific evolution, especially when it came to putting new top contenders to the test.
Now while some people will remember Leben for quitting against Uriah Hall this past Saturday at UFC 168, true fans will appreciate his appetite for brutality until the world turns post-apocalyptic.
In any case, the orange-haired bruiser has done enough over the years to be renowned as an everlasting name in mixed martial arts.
June 8, 2006 may not be a date that will live in infamy, but it’s a day that an undone Chris Leben will likely never forget—one that, despite the hellacious amount of beatings his body and brain have chewed off and spat out since, has come to be…
June 8, 2006 may not be a date that will live in infamy, but it’s a day that an undone Chris Leben will likely never forget—one that, despite the hellacious amount of beatings his body and brain have chewed off and spat out since, has come to be part of quite the MMA time capsule, over seven years in gestation.
Anderson Silva will also likely never let go of that night (he has taken a lot less damage since, broken leg last night at UFC 168 notwithstanding).
It was his much-anticipated UFC debut. His victim, the aforementioned Leben, had no earthly idea as to the degree of web he was about to be tangled up in. The beatdown that “The Spider” spun violent on Leben’s dome, Silva’s strikes slicing through Leben like a hot surgical knife playing the violin through unsuspecting buttah, well, it was something to see.
So maybe it was fitting, or just cruel, that Silva and Leben both fought, and lost, last night—Silva in the main event and Leben headlining the preliminary portion of the fight card.
Seven years can take take its toll on a man, any man (or woman now).
But when said men subject themselves to the kind of labor that Silva and Leben do—plying their trade in a steel cage wrapped around an unforgiving canvas floor—well, it can only go on for so long. Only go on for so long and go well, that is.
This sport will let you sand yourself down to subatomic particles if you let it.
Not in the Octagon, of course. Dana White has a good record of asking someone with less brain cells than when they started talking fight to please trade in their five-ounce gloves for a figurehead role within the organization.
(There is no ill will in that graph, either. Simply a not-so-soigne-facts-of-life kinda thing that anyone who puts a little time in, or way too much, will leave this sport with less gray matter. And it is a good thing that a guy like Chuck Liddell can graduate from the cage to conference room with little to no downtime).
But for those not so fortunate, they may end up fighting their guts out—metaphorically speaking, of course—for some XYZ, fly-by-night (and/or fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants) organization in some no-name town in the Midwest, or Florida.
And all of this is not to damn anyone specific.
Not to damn the man. Certainly not to damn Dana White. He is, by all accounts, a model citizen in this sport. The pillar of good health, if you will.
Or the used car salesman guy who starts that XYZ organization and “pays” nameless, faceless, warmish bodies to take a dive, take a beating or just take it on the chin as best they can even though they have no reasonable idea how to actually fight beyond what you might see in a bar on a Saturday night as John Mellancamp or ACDC blares above the ego-driven and intoxicated blood-spill.
MMA has gone mostly mainstream.
It is a legitimate sport—and those that say otherwise are shrinking in size and stature.
A sport with real men and women who have fought in wars, birthed and raised children, fear God, pay their taxes and so forth. Why they do what they do (hell, why do any of us do what we do?) is of no matter. We do what we do because we can and/or want, because something inside of us itches away and the only way to bring temporary relief is to find our scratch post in life and hold on for dear life.
For some, fighting is that scratch post (sometimes a stick of dynamite). For others, it’s crochet—or cat videos.
The sport has all the bells and whistles it needs, and then some, as far as rules and regulations. At least at the level of the UFC, Bellator and a few other leading organizations (once you get beyond the pines, though, things may get a little too dicey for most people’s comfort levels).
But I digress.
Back to Silva and Leben.
They both had their respective runs in this sport.
Silva elevated himself a rung, or 20, above Leben’s. Not that anyone is counting, at least not right now.
The two will forever be intertwined. From that night back in the summer of 2006 to the more recent outing that will be forever remembered by MMA scholars and riffraff alike, another time capsule, a bitter melon reminder of impermanence—that nothing, yes nothing, lasts forever.
Just, if one is so lucky, remembered—or not forgotten.
These two will be remembered. Neither will soon be forgotten, not by those who breathe sweetly from the ever-expanding MMA atmosphere. Especially the one that is, at this present moment, the greatest mixed martial artist to ever step inside our dialed-down thunder dome. Existential angst, do your worst.
And this MMA thing—it will keep on rolling along (the same could be said for football or boxing).
Chris Leben broke against Uriah Hall at UFC 168.
Leben, long known as one of the toughest, most relentless fighters on the UFC’s roster, begged his corner to stop the fight from his stool between Rounds 1 and 2.
Hall looked three steps ahea…
Leben, long known as one of the toughest, most relentless fighters on the UFC’s roster, begged his corner to stop the fight from his stool between Rounds 1 and 2.
Hall looked three steps ahead of Leben throughout the bout, and he again flashed the brilliance we saw from him during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter.
With a crushing right hand, Hall sent Leben to the canvas, and between rounds, Leben called it quits.
What We’ll remember About This Fight
Leben quit. That’s just…amazing.
Throughout his career, he has come back from the brink of defeat to win, but he simply did not have a comeback in him against Hall.
While Hall earned the finish, Leben was hardly a sharp and polished fighter. This might be the end of the line for “The Crippler.”
What We Learned About Leben
Leben can quit. He looks done at this point in his career, and he made a wise decision to shorten his night against Hall.
What We Learned About Hall
We did not learn much about Hall here.
We knew he was a vicious striker, we knew he could knock dudes out, and we expected him to pick Leben apart.
What’s Next for Leben?
Retirement (I hope).
What’s Next for Hall?
Hall is still an intriguing prospect, and he will get a decent opponent in his next outing.
A fight against Lorenz Larkin would provide fireworks for fans, and it would show which man is ready to take the next step up the 185-pound ladder.
Blessed with concrete hands and an iron chin, UFC veteran