Chris Leben: Difference between revisions
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family friendly 'outside of the cage' personality of Chris and what |
family friendly 'outside of the cage' personality of Chris and what |
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that will mean to our members". |
that will mean to our members". |
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Leben was offered a main event fight against [[Mike Swick]] at [[UFC Fight Night 11]] but turned down the fight for unknown reasons. |
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== MMA record == |
== MMA record == |
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Revision as of 14:54, 20 July 2007
Template:MMAstatsbox Chris "The Crippler" Leben (born July 21, 1980 in Portland, Oregon) is a mixed martial artist best known for his appearance on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and broadcast on Spike TV.
Biography
The Ultimate Fighter
Leben was considered to be one of the most controversial and outspoken fighters on the show. In the first episode, he got drunk and urinated on future teammate Jason Thacker's bed, stealing his pillow afterward. After a heated confrontation where Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth sprayed Leben down with a hose when sleeping, Leben punched a window out as Koscheck ran away to hide from Leben. After this confrontation , UFC president Dana White set up a match between Leben and Koscheck. Leben would end up losing the two round fight by unanimous decision due to Koscheck's ability to score points by controlling Leben on the ground. Leben was visibly upset, especially since Koschek made no effort to advance his position, only hold Leben down.
Later in the show, teammate Nate Quarry was eliminated from the competition due to an ankle injury and was told he could choose a previously eliminated fighter to replace him. He chose Leben to return to the competition, only for him to be defeated by Kenny Florian due to doctor stoppage in the first semi-final match after Florian opened up a cut above Leben’s eye via an elbow strike.
Despite his losses on the show, neither counted against his professional record. This is due to a law in Nevada (where the show was filmed) that all official fight results must be disclosed immediately after they take place. The show's producers did not want the results spoiled and leaked on the internet, so they decided to just make the matches exhibition bouts.
On April 9, 2005 during the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter, Leben fought Jason Thacker as an undercard. Thacker was not amused when he watched the show and found out Leben had used his bed as a urinal. Speaking with Dana White, Thacker then demanded a match against Leben at the finale. The match was set up, and Leben won in 1:35 of the first round after referee stoppage due to strikes. Afterward, Leben got on the mic and apologized to Thacker for urinating on his bed, saying he had since given up drinking because of that incident.
Mixed martial arts career
After the conclusion of the show in 2005, he moved to Seattle, Washington to train with the mixed martial arts team AMC Pankration. Prior to the show, he had trained with Gresham, Oregon based Team Quest. He has also competed in several UFC events since the show, and is the only person to have fought in the first six Ultimate Fight Night events. Leben has a 6-3 record in the UFC, including a TKO against fellow The Ultimate Fighter alumni Jason Thacker, a split decision against Patrick Cote, an armbar submission against Edwin Dewees, a first-round TKO over Jorge Rivera, and a unanimous decision over Luigi Fioravanti.
Leben was defeated by Anderson Silva at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006 by knockout 49 seconds into the first round. Despite such a devastating loss, he wanted to be back in the ring and fighting immediately to prove he had not lost his edge. He got his fight at UFC Fight Night on August 17, 2006. He defeated Jorge Santiago by knockout 35 seconds into the second round. Leben lost his most recent fight at UFC 66 to Canadian fighter Jason MacDonald by modified guillotine choke with less than a minute remaining in the second round. Leben lost to Canadian Kalib Starnes by unanimous decision at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007.
Leben is still under contact with the UFC through 2008 meaning he will likely return to the octagon at least one more time before his contract expires. Leben was slated to battle Mike Swick in a rematch at the UFC Fight Night 11 event in September of 2007 but declined the fight.
Also since UFC 71 Leben has moved to East Oahu,Hawaii to accept the main coaching job at Icon Fitness MMA Gym. Icon Sport promoter T.Jay Thompson has commented saying "I am very excited to have Chris at our new facility. His energy and overall enthusiasm for the sport will add tremendously to our gym. I am very impressed with the family friendly 'outside of the cage' personality of Chris and what that will mean to our members".
Leben was offered a main event fight against Mike Swick at UFC Fight Night 11 but turned down the fight for unknown reasons.
MMA record
| 16 Wins, 4 Losses, 0 Draws[1][2] | |||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | |
| 5/26/2007 | Loss | Kalib Starnes | UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 12/30/2006 | Loss | Jason MacDonald | UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 | Submission (Modified Guillotine) | 2 | 4:03 | |
| 8/17/2006 | Win | Jorge Santiago | UFC Fight Night 6 | KO (Punch) | 2 | 0:35 | |
| 6/28/2006 | Loss | Anderson Silva | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 | KO (Knee) | 1 | 0:49 | |
| 4/6/2006 | Win | Luigi Fioravanti | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 1/16/2006 | Win | Jorge Rivera | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3 | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 1:44 | |
| 10/3/2005 | Win | Edwin Dewees | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 3:26 | |
| 8/6/2005 | Win | Patrick Cote | UFC Ultimate Fight Night | Decision (Split) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 4/9/2005 | Win | Jason Thacker | UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 1:35 | |
| 6/26/2004 | Win | Benji Radach | SF 4-Fight For Freedom | TKO (Injury) | 3 | ? | |
| 5/14/2004 | Loss | Joe Doerksen | FFC 9-Freestyle Fighting Championships 9 | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 4/17/2004 | Win | Justin Davis | SF 3-Dome | KO | 1 | ? | |
| 1/16/2004 | Win | Mike Swick | WEC 9-Cold Blooded | KO (Punch) | 2 | 0:45 | |
| 11/13/2003 | Win | James Fanshier | GC 20-Gladiator Challenge 20 | Decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 10/17/2003 | Win | Brian Sleeman | WEC 8-Halloween Fury 2 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 3:15 | |
| 8/23/2003 | Win | Landon Showalter | QP-Second Coming | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 3/8/2003 | Win | John Hall | FCFF-Rumble at the Roseland 6 | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| 12/14/2002 | Win | Ben Birtcher | FCFF-Rumble at the Roseland 5 | TKO | 1 | 3:00 | |
| 11/9/2002 | Win | Bryce Hamilton | UFCF-Fall Brawl | Submission | 1 | ? | |
| 8/10/2002 | Win | Justin Terherst | FCFF-Rumble at the Roseland 4 | Submission | 1 | 2:30 | |
Notes and references
- ^ "Sherdog Fight Finder - Chris Leben's Mixed Martial Arts Statistics". Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- ^ The results of fights that took place on The Ultimate Fighter are not counted on competitor’s professional records (except for the fights during the live season finale), as they were considered exhibition bouts.