Chris Leben Announces Retirement from MMA After 22-Bout UFC Tenure

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Chris Leben is hanging up his gloves after an 11-year professional career that included 22 bouts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Leben officially announced his retirement during Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride. I’ve landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I’m starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things,” Leben told Ariel Helwani.

“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and re-evaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I’ve really retired from competing in MMA.”

Leben was an integral figure in the UFC’s growth. One of the most polarizing figures on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Leben’s in-house feud with fellow cast members Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth helped to generate interest in the reality show.

His heavy-handed, brawling style made him a fan favorite during his tenure with the promotion, where he posted a 12-10 mark with notable wins over Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, Aaron Simpson, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Wanderlei Silva, to name a few.

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Yeah, when a fighter has to argue with his corner about continuing the fight and HE'S the one trying to get the fight stopped, then it's time for him to hang em up.

I thought he had a heck of a career, and always put on exciting fights.
I was out of my seat in his fights with Akiyama, Wandy, and Stann.

Yeah, I have liked him since he spritz on the Canadians pillow. He is one of those guys that is gonna go in there and try his damnedest to put on an exciting fight. I'll miss watching his wars.

Chrom wrote:

Yeah, I have liked him since he spritz on the Canadians pillow. He is one of those guys that is gonna go in there and try his damnedest to put on an exciting fight. I'll miss watching his wars.

Yep, The Fatherless Bastard should have been his nickname from day 1. He always went in there and tried to put on exciting fights. Another thing I respected about hm was that he wouldn't tap, he'd just get choked out. That's what the fans want to see and he was glad to be the test dummy. His wiki page says he lost to Hall via TKO (retirement) lol.

Yeah...Leben's always been my comparison against GSP...GSP is the oatmeal...Leben is the freaking steak dinner. Sometimes you get too full....your stomach hurts and you feel like you're gonna vomit...but damnit, you just ate a steak dinner!

Always entertaining, always brings it, never plays it safe.

All that said...I'm glad to see him go before he gets hurt.

Went a long way without much talent other than the ability to, hit hard, get hit hard and keep coming. I think that as a fighter the particular talent of being able to take hard hits does not necessarily equate to career longevity.

I appreciated his entertainment value, but I also appreciate watching really good car crashes and train wrecks and I think Lebans career was more in the nature of watching a long term train wreck.

I don't think he will be making the Hall of Fame anytime soon.

His fight with Cote was about the closest thing to a video game fight I have ever seen. They literally both just stood there and took turns punching each other in the face as hard as they could. That was one of the most sadistically entertaining fights I have ever seen.
Seeing him starch Terry Martin after Martin thought he had the fight in the bag was pretty sweet, too.

Good luck Leben and thank you for several years of great fights to watch.

It's too bad his life was a mess. He had a decent building block to be a very good fighter if he would of ever dedicated himself to improving.

If he could of ever improved on any facet of his game he would of made a difference in the division. He was awesome to watch and I really appreciate his warrior mentality, but I think if rookie Chris Leben fought recent Leben it would be a draw, because there was no difference in ability what so ever.

(Although if rookie Leben fought last fight Leben rookie Leben would win, because Leben is showing signs of the wars catching up to him now).

I don't know. Leben was only a brawler in the beginning and then he developed a pretty good jiu jitsu game. He had some good submission wins, most notably against Akiyama... a fight where the brawler was getting outbrawled and he needed the triangle choke to get the win.

Yeah I agree with stock. I have seen some pretty decent improvement to Leben's wrestling and jiu-jitzu game, especially since he relocated to Hawai'i. He's not gonna outgrapple a true-blue former American college wrestler or a bonafide BJJ blackbelt, but I'd say he definitely rounded out his game over time.
But I think he said it best himself; he's gone as far as he's going to. Even though he's advanced as a fighter over the years, at this point in his career, it's unrealistic to think he can consitently win fights in any other way than standing in the pocket and throwing bombs and hoping for a big one to land.

Well I guess I worded it wrong. I didnt mean he didnt add a little BJJ to his game, I just meant he never really changed his style (besides the Akiyama fight at the end).

I mean after one or two fights in the UFC as a rookie I would say he was ranked somewhere around 15 or so and I am pretty sure he hovered there about his entire career without much advancement.

Thats all.

Anyways, I wish him the best. He certainly hasnt had an easy life.

Yeah that's why I referenced the "he's gone as far as he's going to go" part in terms of how he fights. Even he knows it; if it ain't a Rock em Sock em robot type of fight, he doesn't have much to offer.

i dont really know what shit he has gone through in his life or if he is a well meaning human being in general. doesnt seem so from here, but, with benefit of doubt, good luck to him anyway. as far as his fights, he was the prime example of what type of fighters i found boring. no improvisation, no fluidity, no plan, minimal skill, just plodding forward and bleeding. yes, that is boring in my book, i want to see mastery and i want to see martial arts.