Chris Leben will go down as a different kind of MMA legend.

His hands are slow as fuck but it seldom matters when he brings guys into his world. Great fight, good stoppage. The guy turned his back to retreat and then got knocked/ran across the cage in a half dazed terror. That would get a boxing fight stopped too.

It is hard to hate Leben. He will always be slow, less than technical and have questionable cardio, but his chin, power and heart make him an everyman's fighter. One thing about the crippler lately in his career is that he has gotten about ten times smarter. He is crafty and experienced now and it showed in the cage. His opponent was stronger, more athletic and more pedigreed but Leben just had too many tricks in his bag.

IMO that was the best performance of the Cripplers entire career. I wouldn't mind to see him matched up against Alan Belcher, Wanderlei Silva or Akiyama after these guys sort out their next fights.


I'd almost rather he went to Strikeforce though, because there are more fights that would suit his style in that organization with brawlers like Scott Smith, Benji, Smokin Joe and Manhoef.

semii agree semi disagree

that would not have been stopped in boxing

but yes he has heavy hands

and a steroid history.........just saying

Everyone has a steroid history. Most just don't get busted. Who has seen Shane Carwin's early fights? He looked ten times as huge then.


Chris Leben's career got a new lease on life with the win over Simpson, who was a significant favorite.

agree to both statements, Leben was impressive and your right his punches are slow as shit but whenthey land they land

I think Simpson was shocked he couldnt get or keep Leben on his back and gassed

That fight is devastating for Simpson's career. Leben a tenured veteran of the UFC or not, if you can't beat him, you can't compete at the highest level.

I am really curious on how Leben will be remembered in the coming years.

well Cote and Swick are guys Leben beat that are up in their divisions but ya your right, getting beat by Leben aint a good sign

This was another fight that I picked someone to win (Simpson) but about 30 seconds in I said fuck it and started rooting for the other guy (Leben) .. aaron had no answers for anything. Good for the Crippler.

I can't say I am a fan of Leben, particularly when he has gassed so quick in some fights, but he actually didn't seem as bad to me as he has been lately. But my God man, what a fucking chin! Simpson hit him several times with solid shots and Leben acted like they were mosquito bites.

He is the kind of fighter though that once the chin goes away, bad bad things will happen to his career.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

He is the kind of fighter though that once the chin goes away, bad bad things will happen to his career.

+1

Anyone with a decent ground game can own him whenever they want. Only good fights for him are with other guys looking to put on a show. Fighters just looking to win will probably out smart him 9 out of 10 times. I don't think Leben would make it out of the 1st round in SF 8 man tourny.

So much for Simpsons gas tank also, Goldie and Kenflo were bragging about him doing some NFL type workouts and that his gas tank is top notch... ye right

He's been choked out twice true, but he has a good sub win over Dewees. He is fairly difficult to takedown and the only time he has ever been submitted, guys had to choke him completely out. Jake Rosholt and Jason Macdonald have power submission games.

The first round of a SF middleweight tourney? Depends on who he drew.

Yes, Tim Kennedy, Jacare and Mayhem would be bad fights for him, but then again these guys would sub or at least beat everyone on Leben's resume save Anderson, and Dan Henderson is superior to Leben in all categories he is good at, but after that it is all winnable battles for him. He and Scott Smith are very similar and that would be a FOTN contender unless it becomes a KOTN, Cung Le would school him unless he Smith'd Le, BUT that is a winnable fight. Lawler is a better version of Leben but a winnable fight. Law is washed the fuck up and would get KO'd after Leben gassed him out. Manhoef is another fight in the Le category. Cyborg back at MW is a coinflip.

Leben would be in the mix in SF.

Who else does SF have?

If Leben can perform like he did the other night he is a significantly better fighter than he was when he lost to Jake Rosholt. In fact Rosholt is another fighter with wildly inconsistant performances that Leben could destroy on the wrong(right) occassion.

I would take anyone listed above vs Leben.

Leben will always have that journeyman status. I would have said the same too. I wrote him off numerous times during his career, but lets look at wins his resume ;


Benji Radach
Patrick Cote
Aaron Simpson
Jorge Santiago
Terry Martin
Edwin Dewees
Jorge Rivera
Mike Swick
Alessio Sakara


Impressive. Granted, some of these wins are timing. Martin was trailing down, Santiago hadn't hit his groove, Swick hadn't hit his groove, Sakara was trailing down ect, but so much of boxing and MMA is timing isn't it?

That is a great career.

Like I said, Leben's everyman fighter aesthetic, imperfections and ups and downs will make him a different sort of legend once this era of MMA has passed.

Wolf, I think Smith is that midlevel guy who will go down as a bit of a legend, that you are looking for.. 3 come from behind KO's on your resume along with the slugging style makes him noteworthy. Leben's a good slugger, perhaps as good as Smith, but can we pin down an epic win on his resume?

Leben has plenty of cool come from behind wins, though none as dramatic as Smith. Terry Martin was a good one.

Smith is the same sort of fighter.

Leben is better than Scott Smith

Maybe, maybe not. Could Leben have hung with Lawler so long? I don't know.


I'll tell you what I hope that fight becomes possible in the next couple years.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Maybe, maybe not. Could Leben have hung with Lawler so long? I don't know.


I'll tell you what I hope that fight becomes possible in the next couple years.

Me too, I'm taking Smith.

If Smith's contract runs out don't be surprised to see him back in the octagon. He is becoming a fan favorite.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Leben is better than Scott Smith

That's not the issue, the issue is who has attained a level of non traditional legend status. IMO Smith and Leben are very comparable, ie, midlevel sluggers, decent wins but nothing great, but Smith has 3 epic come from behind KO's. IMO that gives him a big edge in this discussion.

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

Anyone with a decent ground game can own him whenever they want. Only good fights for him are with other guys looking to put on a show. Fighters just looking to win will probably out smart him 9 out of 10 times. I don't think Leben would make it out of the 1st round in SF 8 man tourny.

What? Didn't he just beat someone with a good ground game??? He's far improved IMO and Wolf is right on all accounts in this thread. Leben is a crafty veteran with heavy hands and an above average chin. He also has a TON of heart which makes me a big fan.

Bigs03 wrote:

OUSOONERSOU wrote:

Anyone with a decent ground game can own him whenever they want. Only good fights for him are with other guys looking to put on a show. Fighters just looking to win will probably out smart him 9 out of 10 times. I don't think Leben would make it out of the 1st round in SF 8 man tourny.

What? Didn't he just beat someone with a good ground game??? He's far improved IMO and Wolf is right on all accounts in this thread. Leben is a crafty veteran with heavy hands and an above average chin. He also has a TON of heart which makes me a big fan.

A good ground game that he didn't use very well. Give that same guy Greg Jackson and he wins that fight easy.