Roundtable: Our Favourite Memories of Chris Leben's Career

Kingdom MMA Roundtable: Our Favourite Memories of Chris Leben's Career

One Monday afternoon 22-fight UFC veteran Chris Leben went on the MMA hour with Ariel Helwani and officially announced his retirement from MMA.

Through his up and downs, wins and losses, one things for certain Leben was a fan favourite from the minute he stepped in the the cage until the day he left.

In wake of Leben's retirement, we pay homage to Leben's career sharing out favourite Leben moments with you.

Chris Marzella - @chrismarzella
It's quite sad that we won't be seeing Leben competing anymore. He was one of the few guys who, win, lose or draw, was always worth the admission. I've always rooted for those guys from the first series of TUF, we already had Griffin, Bonnar and Florian walk away, so it saddens me to see another of that group go into retirement. The way he quit on his stool in the Hall fight was the most un-Chris Leben thing that I could have imagined, if that was the way his career would have continued than I'd rather not see him do this anymore. His style of taking two, three, four punches to land one of his own has its limitations and he's walking away at the right time. At least we still have those memories of those insane Leben moments, of course the shock win against Sexyama, but the one that will live long in the memory is the night he knocked out Wanderlei Silva. They are practically carbon copies of each other and for Leben to bruatlise Wand in less than thirty seconds was just unbelievable to watch.

Sam Heard - @samheard_
Chris Leben’s career is a fascinating one in so far as it consists of such contrast; intense highs like knocking out MMA legend Wanderlei Silva as well as crippling lows such as his self-deprecation having his Ultimate Fighter shattered by rival Josh Koscheck. Many moments spring to mind as being the best of Leben’s long MMA career. One of my most prominent memories of Leben was his clinical beat down at the hands of former Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, simply put one of the most (if not the most) beautiful displays of MMA we’re ever likely to see in the Octagon. However, I think picking this would be unfair on Leben as clearly he was the one on the receiving end of this onslaught and would certainly rather not be remembered for it.

I would say my favourite memory of Leben was the personal growth which we all saw him undergo in the first series of The Ultimate Fighter. At first he was the outspoken, annoying loudmouth who was there to party rather than to advance his fighting career. By the end however, he had grown and we had seen the tender, emotionally fragile side to the man who – on the very first night – ‘spritzed’ (pissed) on Jason Thacker’s bed sheet. This personal development also allowed his friendship to form with Kenny Florian who had disliked Leben for the first few weeks. This may not be a fighting memory of Leben but it was this insight into his personality which kept me so interested in the career of the Crippler for all these years.  

Chris Houten - @mrhouts
Through his ups and down Chris Leben has always had one thing going for him, his ability to entertain fans. For his antics on season 1 of the ultimate fighter to his glorious knockout of Wanderlei Silva, Leben has provided me with a wealth of memories that while last a lifetime.

While Leben's knockout of Silva was beautiful, and I'll never forget the excitement I felt in the lead up to UFC 138 knowing I would be cage side for the first 5 round non title fighter, my favourite memory of Leben's career takes place during a two week period in 2010 where Leben came from behind to defeat Aaron Simpson by TKO then followed that up with a sweet triangle of Akiyama.

Leben was all heart. A beautiful brawler who would surprisingly fight better when he was hurt and I feel that two week period in Leben's career summed the man to a tee.

I have enjoyed watching every minute of Christian Leben's career.... Thank you for the memories Crippler!

Ben Heather - @benheather
For me the greatest Leben memory is easy. While it's certainly not his finest moment in MMA it is however one of the moments that hooked me in to the great sport of MMA. 

My favourite Chris Leben memory is having him headline my first live MMA event UFC 138 in Birmingham. The main event saw Leben lose to Munoz and end up in a bloody mess by the end but for what that event meant to me on a personal level and how it changed me from a casual fan to a die hard fan it has to be my greatest Leben moment and I feel honoured that I got to see him in action. 

If I had to pick a Leben moment in the octagon it has to be finishing Wanderlei in less than 30 seconds, it was a crazy fight and showed how good a fighter Leben really was. Now, looking back on his career it was the last time he was in the win column. Although he took a beating and didn't look the same fighter during those last four fights the win over Wanderlei was one of many highs and a great way to get his final win. 

All I would like to say is Chris Leben, thank you for the great memories and I salute you for making what must have been a tough decision to retire. You will always be a true warrior!!

Roundtable: Is Chris Leben Finished?

Roundtable: Is Chris Leben Finished?

 

On Saturday night Chris Leben lost a lackluster, one sided decision (in the eyes of everyone who watch it baring the one judge who scored the fight to Leben) to relatively unknown mid-tier Middleweight Andrew Craig, his third loss in a row.

Prior to fighting Craig, Leben had dropped back-to-back loss, including brutal doctor stoppage loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138 a fight which later saw Leben pick up a drug suspension when the pain killer Oxycontin (nicknamed Hilly Billy Heroin in The US) was found in his system , and another lackluster performance where he lost to UFC debutante Derek Brunson at UFC 155 upon his return.

Having dropped 3 of his last 4 fights now, that leads up to whats next for Chris Leben....... Tom Rooney, Ben Heather, and Chris Houten discuss.


As a fighter do you think Chris Leben still has something to offer,  or do you feel his performance in his last few fights indict he should retire?

Tom Rooney: I think he's finished, and there's no shame in that. He's 1/4 in his last five fights and at this level of competition that's not good enough. The UFC have been very patient with him and supportive when he's had problems, if he wasn't such a long-time servant he would have been cut by now. He has big enough name in the sport that he could retire and probably get a good coaching gig in one of the better camps.

Ben Heather: In my opinion and I'm saying this as a fan of Leben's. I think he is done... He has been near the top of the division and even at his prime didn't make it all the way but as fans we didn't care. We knew he would put on a show and unfortunately his past two fights seem to prove that has changed now so I think it's time to retire.

Chris Houten: Only Chris Leben can decide when to call it a day but at this stage of his career it might not be a bad idea for some one to steer him in the right direct. Its a fact, he has struggled in his last 2 fight against guys not many people expected him to loss to.

Chris Leben has had a good career, he should be proud of himself, and bow out gracefully. He has already took enough blows to the head, he definitely doesn't need to take any more.

Has being an out and out brawler caught up with Chris Leben, or do you feel his performance can be attributed to his past drug addition  and the lay off due to suspension?

Tom Rooney: It's not that his style has caught up with him, but that the sport has surpassed him. Look, the drug issues will certainly not have helped, but relying on haymakers and having cement-mixer for a skull isn't enough in modern MMA. Today, as supposed to when he got started a decade ago, there are fighters that are as equally tough and hit as hard as Leben, but are also far more well rounded and technically proficient. Also, there are some many up and comers that are hungry as hell that would love to make a name for themselves by taking Leben out, at this stage of his career and where he is in the rankings, he doesn't need that kind of target on his back.

Ben Heather: I think it has to be a mixture of all of them. The damage he has taken in fights and still carried on going forward looking for the win has to take an effect on any mans body. No matter how fit/ goof your chin is going through that many wars over the years has to take away his ability to carry on... Surely!!

Then that combined with his personal issues and abuse of his body which led to time he wasn't able to fight and I think it's get us to where we are today. A Leben that gasses after one round and didn't look like he has the power in him for that big haymaker.

Chris Houten: I think it has to be a little bit of both. There is no way in hell you can keep going out there fight after fight, plodding forward taking shots all in the name of courage. Leben is a brawler, his whole career has been based on dragging guys into slanging matches, taking shots with the aim of landing bigger one - a style that probably got him in trouble with the painkillers in the first place.

At the same time Leben looks a shadow of himself since his return, he looks like he has no soul left. Drug addiction is a nasty place to be, and it feels like it has left him completely empty.

Should Leben continue to fight, do you feel he is likely to get cut from the UFC? If so who do you think he will sign for?

Tom Rooney: Yes. They guy has a lot of miles on the clock and is almost twelve years as a professional and when you take the drug problems into consideration, there is only so much a person's body can take. He looked so lethargic, almost broken on Saturday night. The sport is too dangerous and competitive for a guy to be fighting if he's not firing on all cylinders, that's how serious injuries happen. Dana White seems to really care about him, so if he's cut it will be done very tactfully and he'll probably find Leben a job in the company if he wants it -a la Liddell/Griffin. If chooses to keep fighting, Bellator might snap him up or, if he fancies a change of pace, he can come to Europe and fight for Cage Warriors!

Ben Heather: This one is simple for me. No Leben shouldn't fight again. I wouldn't like to see Leben fight for any other organisation but I also wouldn't want to see him get cut. A sit down with Dana where he is advised to retire even given a role to advise young fighters what could happen and try not to do like he did with his career would be better than to see him fight again.

Chris Houten: At this stage he deserves to get cut, but then so did Dan Hardy and look how he has bounced back. I know Leben has recently moved over to Alliance MMA and you never know it could see a change in fortune for him, but at this point I don't see it.

I also don't see many people willing to take a punt on him, least of all Bellator due to their Viacom ownership. If Leben does fight outside of the UFC, I feel the best he can hope for is World Series of Fighting.

If Leben were to in fact retire what would you fondest memory be of the man?
Tom Rooney: The pre-fight press conference in Birmingham before his might with Mark Munoz at UFC 138. He was in flying form, telling the journalists that the only food you can get in England or Ireland has to be boiled, fried or put between two pieces of white bread. The guy's a character and seemed to have a great rapport with the fans and journalists.

Ben Heather: My highlight on a personal level is him headlining 138 as that was my first live event. But a Leben career highlight was him taking back to back fights on 2 weeks notice. After knocking out Aaron Simpson he didnt just Fight but submitted Akiyama on just two weeks notice!! That sums up Leben in my eyes.

Chris Houten: Moment wise the one that sticks with me is Leben knocking out Wandi in just 27 second - Oh Wow, but I will mostly remember Leben for his heart and courage...... a true warrior!