Popular UFC middleweight Chris “The Crippler” Leben announced his retirement from mixed martial arts Monday.
Leben made the announcement on mmafighting.com’s The MMA Hour.
“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride … 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 said.
Leben had lost four in a row and five of his last six outings dating back to 2010. His last appearance was a TKO loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in December.
“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and reevaluate 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 explained.
The 33-year-old, who made his pro debut in 2002, finishes his fighting career with a professional record of 22–11 with 17 of his wins coming by knockout or submission.
His most memorable win was over Wanderlei Silva when he knocked out the former Pride champion in just 27 seconds at UFC 132 in July 2011. Leben also defeated the likes of notable fighters Patrick Cote, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Alessio Sakara, Jorge Rivera, Jorge Santiago and Mike Swick among others.
Leben, who was known for his knockout power and ability to absorb a lot of punishment, got his start in the UFC following a memorable stint on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter where he developed a loyal fan base.
He was Anderson Silva’s first UFC opponent and prior to his time on TUF won the inaugural WEC middleweight championship.
In 22 UFC appearances, Leben went 12-10 with four KO of the Night awards and two Fight of the Night bonuses.
“The bottom line, I’ve been with the actual UFC now for almost 10 years and I really feel like I’ve kind of grown with them, parallel with them,” Leben said. “In this sport, you’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward.
“I’ve had a wonderful career. And again, I didn’t start fighting until I was 21 years old. Back then you could actually get in the UFC, win and do well, just on being a tough guy. I was a tough guy, I had some techniques, and that always worked for me. But when you look at these guys now, like Uriah Hall, they’re just a different breed of athlete than I am. The game has been evolving and changing so much, so rapidly, that I’m actually pretty happy that I can say I was in it for as long as I was in it.”
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