Leben (photo) announced his retirement from MMA. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Chris Leben, veteran UFC fighter and participant in the historic first season of reality show The Ultimate Fighter, announced that he retired from MMA after his last fight.
At UFC 168, in December 2013, Leben withdrew from the fight against Uriah Hall at the end of the first round. Accumulating his fifth defeat in the last six fights, “The Crippler”, as he is known, said he will not return to the Octagon as a fighter.
“As far as fighting in the UFC goes, I think that’s enough. I've had a fantastic journey, with many ups and downs, but I'm realizing that the time has come to transition to other things”, he said, in an interview with the program The MMA Hour, on the North American website MMA Fighting.
Even though he is still relatively young, at 33 years old, Leben stated that he was no longer able to keep up with the technical evolution of the sport. “I started fighting when I was 21 and still made it to the UFC. Guys like Uriah Hall They are the new generation of fighters. The game evolves very quickly. I had never lost two fights in a row in my career, but now I have lost four in a row. So, it’s time to look for something else,” he continued.
“I'm 33 years old, which is relatively young, but it's not about age, it's about time on the road. And I've been doing this for a long time. I want to train people, help fighters go to the end, teaching the 'way Chris Leben' to fight”, he concluded.
Since it first appeared in The Ultimate Fighter, Leben was already considered a controversial figure. A loudmouth and provocateur, he caused a lot of confusion within the house and was eliminated in the quarter-finals, losing to Josh koscheck in the judges' decision.
However, an ankle injury to Nate Quarry forced him back into contention. In the semi-final he lost again, this time to Kenny Florian, by technical knockout caused by a cut.
Even though he was not champion of the program, Leben was invited to join the list of UFC fighters. It was he who welcomed Anderson Silva to the octagon in 2006, but was knocked out in the first minute of the contest. Years later, in 2011, against another legendary Brazilian fighter, however, the story was different.
Facing Wanderlei Silva, this time it was Leben who scored the knockout in the opening seconds. This fight, he said, is “the icing on the cake” of his career.
Thus, another fighter from the first season of TUF announces his retirement. Forrest griffin, Stephan bonnar e Kenny Florian These are some of the prominent names from that edition who have already hung up their gloves.
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