Leben (photo) was unable to return to MMA due to health problems. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Veteran in the world of fights, the former UFC Chris Leben planned to come out of retirement and return to competition. However, the American discovered that he had a serious heart problem, which prevented him from having his first fight in Bellator. After the shock of the news passed, Leben considers that the nights out when he was younger were a decisive factor in his health problem.
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Now 35 years old, Leben has been known in the fighting world since his participation in TUF 1, at the beginning of 2005. On the reality show, the athlete drew attention for his highly confident posture, in addition to his problems with alcoholic beverages.
“I haven't been told that [the heart problem] is linked to alcohol or anything like that, but my guess is: I train hard when I go to the gym. I never missed a day at the gym, but for a long time, I also enjoyed a night out. So I was burning the candle at both ends for years. I think my heart couldn’t take it”, analyzed Leben, in an interview with the North American website “MMA Fighting”.
The fighter, who was the first opponent of Anderson Silva at the UFC in 2006, he explained in detail what is happening with his health. “Basically, I was doing my pre-fight exams and I failed an EKG. So I did four more and kept failing, as my left ventricle was generating too much electricity. They did an echocardiogram which, unfortunately, showed that my left ventricle is bigger than it should be, has a different shape and is not pumping blood correctly. It only pumps 18% of the amount it should, which is not a good thing”, he commented.
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