Leben gets 1-year suspension for failed drug test

I wonder if this contributed to his apparent cardio issue in the fight.

Quote :

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Monday revealed that middleweight standout Chris Leben tested positive for Oxycodone and Oxymorphone following his loss to Mark Munoz on Nov. 5 in the UFC 138 main event in Birmingham, England.

There is no athletic commission to oversee mixed martial arts events in England, so the promotion polices itself under the supervision of former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission Marc Ratner, who is now UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

As a result of the positive test, the UFC suspended Leben for one year.

“I like Chris and I want him to do well, but based on his actions, he’s been suspended for one year,” UFC president Dana White said. “If he needs professional help, we are going to be there for him. We want to see him succeed not only in the Octagon, but in his personal life.”

“I would like to make it known that I fully accept this suspension and apologize for embarrassing the UFC, my friends and family, and the sport of mixed martial arts,” Leben said. “I’m learning that I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. I can’t succeed in the Octagon or in life behaving this way. I’ve got to make some real changes over the next year and I’m going to focus on getting my life and career back on track. Again, I’m sorry to the UFC and fans that’ve supported me since my days on The Ultimate Fighter.”

http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-138-drug-test-failure-lands-chris-leben-a-one-year-suspension

Damn you Leban!
Good luck over the next year...

Hope to see you come back stronger then ever!
Naturally of course!

Addiction is a MF'er.

Kicks the booze and pops the pills... damn shame.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Good job quitting the drinking, but if you're just gonna trade one addiction for another, you may need to get some help.

Whew!! ... What a sigh of relief ... thank god it wasn't steroids like back in 2008 (Stanozolol).
Now he just needs to get some help..

If it's not drinking... it's some form or drug or another... this is his 2nd time.

3rd time he's done son!

Popping alot of pills hmmm, i think we are seeing why he gassed so easily now. Those things kill your cardio and muscle and desires to just train.

Has it been confirmed that he's "addicted" or has a "drug problem"?
Isn't it possible he took some pain killers to help out with some pain he was having, and they stuck in his system too long.

I keep a stash of percoset for when my back goes out or I have trouble sleeping from migraines.

Shitty news,
hopefully he takes the necessary steps to get better and come back to the sport he loves;
assuming it doesn't pass him by in the lifetime that a year in the UFC can seem to be.

stock wrote:

Has it been confirmed that he's "addicted" or has a "drug problem"?
Isn't it possible he took some pain killers to help out with some pain he was having, and they stuck in his system too long.

I keep a stash of percoset for when my back goes out or I have trouble sleeping from migraines.

Just reading between the lines here, but from his own words it sounds like he has some darkness going on in his life and this might be a big part of it.

“I’m learning that I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. I can’t succeed in the Octagon or in life behaving this way. I’ve got to make some real changes over the next year and I’m going to focus on getting my life and career back on track."

stock wrote:

Has it been confirmed that he's "addicted" or has a "drug problem"?
Isn't it possible he took some pain killers to help out with some pain he was having, and they stuck in his system too long.

I keep a stash of percoset for when my back goes out or I have trouble sleeping from migraines.

From what I've gathered over a bit of experience (not personally but pretty close family) is that when you use drugs to regulate feelings and it has direct consequences in your personal and/or professional life, and you don't stop, you're an addict. And looking the last few years, that's an open and shut case for Leben. Switching vices isn't uncommon at all for addicts either. "Hey I kicked the alcohol with the help of Oxy!!" No. No you didn't lol...

I also have a stash that I use for serious headaches or the occasional toothache. The difference is that we don't just take the stuff because we want to relax at the end of a long day. Every day.

I think what stock was implying was that maybe it was a one-time thing (or only a few times), and that he simply didn't clean out in time to pass the test. But like I said, Leben's own words seem to paint a different picture. Add that to his history of substance abuse, and you can be pretty sure that this is a case where some life-changing decisions need to be made.

Yeah, I agree.
I just hadn't had the time to read much into it other than what was posted in this thread.

Hope he kicks it.

Addictive personalities NEVER get better they only go into recovery. Chris will always be addicted to something he needs to find something that is not illeagle nor harmful.

Oxy addiction is as bad as a heroin addiction.... If Leben cannot clean up ... he will die... simple.

Yep, very true. Some of us can kind of control it, but if you're an addictive person, that's what you are forever.
I used to smoke insane amounts of weed when I was younger, then in my early twenties I was drinking every night. Shortly after that, I dropped weed completely, but I was still drinking. Now I only drink on the weekends for the most part, but if you told me i had to stop altogether, I don't know that I could. And if I did, I would probably go back to smoking weed or doing something else.

Man, I should look into getting hooked on knitting or something, see if I can't kick this self-medicating thing.

Krieger wrote:

Addictive personalities NEVER get better they only go into recovery. Chris will always be addicted to something he needs to find something that is not illeagle nor harmful.

Oxy addiction is as bad as a heroin addiction.... If Leben cannot clean up ... he will die... simple.

It's too damn bad he couldn't be addicted to training. At the rate he's going he'd be a serious contender.

Triggerman99 wrote:

Yep, very true. Some of us can kind of control it, but if you're an addictive person, that's what you are forever.
I used to smoke insane amounts of weed when I was younger, then in my early twenties I was drinking every night. Shortly after that, I dropped weed completely, but I was still drinking. Now I only drink on the weekends for the most part, but if you told me i had to stop altogether, I don't know that I could. And if I did, I would probably go back to smoking weed or doing something else.

Man, I should look into getting hooked on knitting or something, see if I can't kick this self-medicating thing.

I was a bit of a weedie myself. Off topic a ways but I've recently come to the conclusion that weed itself isn't a gateway drug, but the weed world has a shitload of gateways. If you're just buying the shit from Julio around the corner and then going home and getting high on the weekend before you watch football, you're probably going to be fine. But when you and Julio are friends and you're getting high with all of the people who are coming and going in his life, the potential for trying something else is huge. The weed is kinda secondary at that point.

Never mentioned this in my first post in here but, this is probably a lot to do with why he looked so friggin terrible in this fight; just saying. and yes I realize he had a shitty weight cut, but still.

DEP wrote:

Triggerman99 wrote:

Yep, very true. Some of us can kind of control it, but if you're an addictive person, that's what you are forever.
I used to smoke insane amounts of weed when I was younger, then in my early twenties I was drinking every night. Shortly after that, I dropped weed completely, but I was still drinking. Now I only drink on the weekends for the most part, but if you told me i had to stop altogether, I don't know that I could. And if I did, I would probably go back to smoking weed or doing something else.

Man, I should look into getting hooked on knitting or something, see if I can't kick this self-medicating thing.

I was a bit of a weedie myself. Off topic a ways but I've recently come to the conclusion that weed itself isn't a gateway drug, but the weed world has a shitload of gateways. If you're just buying the shit from Julio around the corner and then going home and getting high on the weekend before you watch football, you're probably going to be fine. But when you and Julio are friends and you're getting high with all of the people who are coming and going in his life, the potential for trying something else is huge. The weed is kinda secondary at that point.

Yeah that's kind of what I was eluding to with my "knitting" comment.
It's not so much the drug or the high itself, it's just "doing something" that defines the addictive personality. Like smokers; they usually have to chew gum or something when they quit because if they're not "doing something", it's like a splinter in their brain. It's more a mental addiction that I can speak for myself about than it is a physical addiction. I don't think you're so much defined as an "addict" in those situations as you are "addicted" if that makes any sense at all.
I'm not sure which one Leben is, though. But it seems to me that since he did manage to quit the booze, he's not a slave to it. However, the fact that he quit one thing, only to start another proves that he does have that mysterious addictive personality.

Heh ... good thing I am a "Sexxual Tyranasaurus."


Oooo name that movie for 5 points!

Krieger wrote:

Heh ... good thing I am a "Sexxual Tyranasaurus."


Oooo name that movie for 5 points!

Predator!!!!!! Jesse ventura was a bad ass in that movie

Heh good call ... I still love that movie

Buncha slack jawed faggots around here...

Quote :

Long tall Sally......she feels sweet!
She got everything.......
That uncle John needs.....

Oh baby......I'm gonna have me some fun tonight....
I'm gonna have me some fun tonight!!

Greatest.
Movie.
Ever!!!!!!!

DEP wrote:

Triggerman99 wrote:

Yep, very true. Some of us can kind of control it, but if you're an addictive person, that's what you are forever.
I used to smoke insane amounts of weed when I was younger, then in my early twenties I was drinking every night. Shortly after that, I dropped weed completely, but I was still drinking. Now I only drink on the weekends for the most part, but if you told me i had to stop altogether, I don't know that I could. And if I did, I would probably go back to smoking weed or doing something else.

Man, I should look into getting hooked on knitting or something, see if I can't kick this self-medicating thing.

I was a bit of a weedie myself. Off topic a ways but I've recently come to the conclusion that weed itself isn't a gateway drug, but the weed world has a shitload of gateways. If you're just buying the shit from Julio around the corner and then going home and getting high on the weekend before you watch football, you're probably going to be fine. But when you and Julio are friends and you're getting high with all of the people who are coming and going in his life, the potential for trying something else is huge. The weed is kinda secondary at that point.

Well said.