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You just sit back and wonder “dude, what the hell?” when it comes to UFC Middleweight Chris “The Crippler” Leben. We found out Monday Leben tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, and he’s been suspended 9 months and will forfeit a third of his purse.
I want you to listen to an interview I did with Chris prior to his fight at UFC 89 with Michael Bisping. You can listen to it by clicking here. In the interview, he talks about how he’s been sober for the longest period in his life, turned his life around, and since moving to Hawaii, has been more focused than he’s ever been on his promising MMA career. And then he makes a mistake like this.
It’s really unfortunate, because Leben has all the talent in the world. He was awesome on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, and is always exciting inside The Octagon, whether he’s getting destroyed by Anderson Silva or coming from behind to knock out Terry Martin. He has battled inner demons his entire life, and he’s a very easy person to root for because he’s 100% genuine.
But there has to be some sort of common sense! Leben was allegedly using before main-eventing at 89, which makes you wonder. This was one of the biggest fights in his career, against a top contender at 185 pounds. Is it worth the risk to reap the benefits of anabolic steroids? And in this case, he didn’t even win the fight!
Now, with Leben out 9 months, there is the danger of him dropping off the radar, which is one of the most lethal things that can happen inside the UFC. “The Crippler” is resilient, which is going to be key for him to re-assert himself with the organization. Just like Patrick Cote, Leben is going to need to fight his way back into a good spot in the middleweight division.
For his sake, I hope he has learned from this mistake, because at 28 years old, he’s still got his whole career in front of him. Leben is a draw, he’s a hell of a fighter, and if he takes this lump like a man, I think he’ll bounce back. But lets hope this is the last lesson he learns the hard way in his career.
Did you say that Leban “has all the talent in the world”? I disagree whole-heartedly. Leban leads with his face and doesn’t have 1 defensive strategy to use during his fights (none that he has used at least). From what I’ve witnessed, Levan is nothing more than a punching bag for the elite fighters. A person they can use to make a big impression on for Dana White. His suspension only means that these fighter will have to find someone else to beat up on to raise their profiles.
PS: To me, the only thing holding Chris Leben back is his head. Physically, the guy has scary tools, I don’t think you can dispute that Darren. He was a very accomplished wrestler in high school, has a crazy chin, and he has outstanding punching power. But far too often, he tries to turn into a slugfest instead of using his other skills to win him a fight. And now he’s set himself back even further.
- DarrenWell, it’s just hard to see his tools, when he plods forward with his hands down and is face up getting drilled on his way into an exchange….usually one where he takes a lot of punishment. Thx for writing back, Pat. It’s nice to know at least one person reads their blog responses.
PS: He certainly is going to have to change his gameplan for his next fight, which isn’t going to be for a while. He was saying all the right things heading into the Bisping fight, but then reverted right back to what you’re talking about, so you make a pretty valid point. No problem, I love this blog stuff!
- Darren