Posted by Jacob Lawton on 16th July 2010
Pictured: Chris ‘The Crippler’ Leben
Chris Leben’s already interesting story took another colossal twist at UFC 116 with his shocking victory against Yoshihiro Akiyama, in a fight he’d taken just two weeks removed from another fight, a victory over Aaron Simpson. And now he’s shot from being a relatively sedate Middleweight journeyman to a potential title contender. Something I find amusing considering he’s lost to (among others) Kalib Starnes, Jake Rosholt and Jason MacDonald, all fighters later cut by the UFC. In this article I’m going to take a look at the MMA career of Chris Leben, and offer my humble two pence about him as a fighter and as a person.
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Posted in Chris Leben, Jacob Lawton, UFC | 1 Comment »
Posted by David Bateman on 10th July 2010
When Dana White describes an event as “the best night of his career”, you know it must be a good one.
UFC 116 will not be forgotten by any MMA fan in a hurry. That tends to happen when two FOTN bonuses are awarded in the same night (to Akiyama v Chris Leben and Krzysztof Soszynski v Stephan Bonnar respectively). Then, there is the not-so-small issue of Brock Lesnar.
It’s the closest thing MMA has to a fairytale. The UFC Heavyweight World Champion becomes unbelievably unwell, near death — then makes a triumphant return against possibly the most dangerous striker in MMA history. Love or loathe him, no one can deny Brock Lesnar the title of number one heavyweight in MMA, and not just because Fedor lost…
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Posted in Akiyama, Brock Lesnar, Chris Leben, David Bateman, George Sotiropoulos, Rankings, Shane Carwin, UFC | 3 Comments »
Posted by Dave Walsh on 3rd November 2008
Well, part of being a fan of MMA and following the careers of certain fighters, or even entire organizations is the understanding that you are going to be continually let down. In recent memory, some of the biggest let downs have been a sober, getting his life back together Evan Tanner going out into the desert without ample supplies and dying alone, baking under a 115 degree sun. It has made the rounds today that Chris Leben has tested positive for steroids. The reaction is that he has been suspended for 9 months and 1/3 of his purse has been witheld from him.
While not surprising in any way (a fighter, on drugs!), it is disappointing. Leben is a guy that has always talked about how he is a “New Chris Leben” and training harder than he ever has before, having his life in order and so on. Granted, Leben’s biggest problem area has always been alcohol, but regardless, testing positive for Stanozolol is not a step any fighter wants to make in their career.
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Posted in Chris Leben, Dave Walsh, Drug Testing, UFC | 7 Comments »
Posted by Andrew Rosebrock on 18th October 2008
Live from (a dude in California blogging a show in) Newcastle Birmingham!
Joe Rogan has a mightily impressive beard, almost a tribute to Evan Tanner. Let’s proceed with the proceedings.
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Posted in Andrew Rosebrock, Chris Leben, MMA, Michael Bisping, UFC | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Snowden on 17th October 2008
Legitimate main event? Or a new low? Our experts argue it out.
Posted in Chris Leben, Michael Bisping | No Comments »
Posted by Tommy Hackett on 19th February 2008
by Tommy Hackett
DISCUSS THIS STORY IN THE TOTAL-MMA.COM FORUMS
Much has been made on our forums, and elsewhere, of the decision to include Chris “The Crippler” Leben’s bout with Alessio Sakara in the UFC 82 PPV. Some of of the complaining is from my editor Iain, the same guy who dismissed my opinions on Contender: Asia in a previous column. His reasoning isn’t hard to follow after a quick look at the fights that are going to be relegated to preliminary status and unlikely to make the broadcast. For starters, Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien is clearly relevant to the UFC’s weak heavyweight division rankings. The fight will feature a former world champion against a fighter coming off a high profile upset victory, and their pairing would seem to merit inclusion over Leben and Sakara who can boast neither achievement. Both Josh Koschek’s scheduled bout with Dustin Hazelett, and Deigo Sanchez’s with David Bielkheden, feature a top contender against a new prospect, and Sakara vs Leben features neither.
Our other editor, Jonathan, didn’t disagree with the decision to include Leben vs Sakara on the PPV, but admitted he usually doesn’t enjoy the “Cripper’s” work.
Clearly, Jonathan and Iain, the guys who invited me to write for this site, are nuts. I know, I couldn’t believe it either!
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Posted in Chris Leben, Tommy Hackett, UFC | 1 Comment »
