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Chris Leben Bio

Chris Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) best known for his appearance on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and broadcast on Spike TV. He is also well known for his wild brawling style with heavy hands and iron jaw. Leben has fought for the UFC 16 times since 2005, a feat surpassed only by fellow TUF 1 alumnus Josh Koscheck, who has 17 bouts since that time.

Mixed martial arts

Early MMA career

One day while visiting his brother at work, Chris noticed an MMA gym located across the street. The particular gym happened to be the location of the world famous Team Quest. After a brief conversation with team trainer Robert Follis Chris was ready to take his fighting training to another level and joined. He signed on and before long he was training with the competition team members like Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Nate Quarry, and Ed Herman. With such a great team around him Chris refined his skills and began fighting as an amateur. His amateur career started just how it ended, with a win. He went 5-0 as an amateur and captured the FCFF and UFCF middleweight titles.

Undefeated as an amateur Chris decided to test the waters and turn pro. He wasted no time and won his first five fights, three of which came via knockout. Chris went on a rampage and captured the Gladiator Challenge, Sportfight, and WEC middleweight titles. He has amassed a nearly flawless professional record and has beaten names such as Benji Radach, Mike Swick, Jorge Rivera, Edwin Dewees and Patrick Cote. His first loss came by way of a tough decision to seasoned veteran Joe Doerkson.

The Ultimate Fighter

Leben was one of the most controversial and outspoken fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 1 due to his tough-guy attitude contrasted by his propensity to shed tears. In the first episode he got drunk and urinated on future teammate Jason Thacker's bed, stealing his pillow afterward. One night when everyone in the household was drinking, Bobby Southworth referred to Leben as a "fatherless bastard" on account of Leben's father not being there during his childhood, causing other members to hold Leben back, who was in a rage. After a heated confrontation where Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth sprayed Leben down with a hose while he was asleep, Leben punched a window out. After the confrontation, UFC president Dana White set up a match between Leben and Koscheck. Leben ended 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.

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, who was later defeated by Kenny Florian due to doctor stoppage in the first semi-final match after Florian opened up a cut above Leben's eye with an elbow strike. His losses on the taped show do not appear on his professional record, as those fights were officially classified by Nevada as exhibition bouts.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On April 9, 2005, Leben fought Jason Thacker on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter's live finale. 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 demanded a match against Leben at the finale. The match was set up, and Leben won 95 seconds into the first round after referee stoppage due to strikes. Afterward, Leben apologized to Thacker for urinating on his bed, saying he had since given up drinking because of that sort of incident.

After the show, Leben 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 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 10–5 record in the UFC, including a TKO win over fellow TUF alumni Jason Thacker, a split decision win over TUF finalist Patrick Côté, 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. However he returned at UFC Fight Night 6 on August 17, 2006. He defeated Jorge Santiago by knockout 35 seconds into the second round.

Leben then lost at UFC 66 to Canadian fighter Jason MacDonald by modified guillotine choke with less than a minute remaining in the second round. Leben then lost to Canadian Kalib Starnes by unanimous decision at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007.

It was reported that Leben was offered a main event fight against Mike Swick at UFC Fight Night 11, but turned down the fight for unknown reasons; it was later revealed on the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 reunion show by UFC President Dana White's call to matchmaker Joe Silva that Leben's camp turned down the fight and that Leben himself had no prior knowledge of the fight offer. Leben instead took on Terry Martin on the same UFC Fight Night 11 card. Even after being rocked with multiple punches by Martin, a half-dazed Leben defeated Martin by knockout at 3:56 of the third round. Later, at UFC 82, he knocked out Alessio Sakara, winning the "Knockout of the Night" award.

His next fight was against Michael Bisping at UFC 89, which he lost by a unanimous decision after a full three rounds. Leben taunted Bisping throughout the last two rounds by dropping his arms and raising his chin. The judges scored the fight 30–27 (twice) and 29–28 for Bisping. Bisping used effective counter punching in the fight to keep the aggressive Leben at bay.

After the fight with Bisping, Leben tested positive for Stanozolol and was suspended for nine months and fined a third of his fight purse. He was eligible to return in July 2009. Leben admitted he had used the substance several months prior to the fight, but stated he had assumed it would have been out of his system by then.

Leben then fought Jake Rosholt at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon. In the third round, he was rendered unconscious via an arm triangle choke, losing the fight by submission. Leben then faced Jay Silva on January 11, 2010 at UFC Fight Night 20, winning via unanimous decision.

Leben was expected to face Aaron Simpson at UFC 114, but the bout took place on June 19, 2010 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale. After a rough first round where Simpson slammed Leben numerous times, Leben eventually connected consecutive punches on a visibly exhausted Simpson in the second. In a bizarre finish, a wobbly Simpson ducked and ran away from Leben, collapsing face first at the other side of the octagon, prompting referee Josh Rosenthal to end the fight via TKO at 4:17 of the second round.

After Wanderlei Silva was forced out of his UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama due to broken ribs, Leben agreed to fill in for Silva in the bout against Akiyama with less than two weeks notice after defeating Simpson. Although he was outstruck and outwrestled for most of the first round, Leben managed to stay competitive and keep a fast paced fight with the rapidly tiring Akiyama in the second round. In the third and final round, Leben capitalized on Akiyama's extreme fatigue and sunk in a triangle choke, forcing Akiyama to submit at 4:40 in round 3.After the fight, Leben called for a fight with Silva, saying "come on Wanderlei, I'll take you out, too!", though UFC president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference that a Leben-Silva affair isn't under consideration.

Personal life

Since May 2007, 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." In addition to training at ICON, Leben and fighter Steven "The Soul Samurai" Saito opened Ultimate Fight School gym in Oahu in January, located two blocks from the University of Hawaii campus.

DUI

On April 30, 2008, that Leben was arrested in Oregon by Clackamas County Sheriffs for DUI stemming from an earlier date. He was kept in jail and temporarily held without bond for allegedly violating his probation. Leben was then sentenced to 35 days in jail, causing his match against Michael Bisping at UFC 85 to be rescheduled for UFC 89.

Championships and Accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Knockout of the Night (2 Times)
  • Fight of the Night (2 Times)

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Middleweight Championship (1 Time, First)

Mixed martial arts record

Notes and references

External links

• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Chris Leben from Sherdog
• Chris Leben at MySpace
• UFC Profile
• Chris Leben at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Leben arrested for DUI

MMA Shirts

Chris Leben Photos