Chris Leben Retires
During his UFC career, Chris Leben was known to be one of the toughest, never-say-die fighters in the game, which made what happened during his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in 2013 all the more shocking.
Late in the opening round Hall had caught Leben flush with a right hand that dropped him and then landed several more ground and pound blows afterwards, but the bell sounded before he could finish the fight.
Leben got gingerly back to his feet and made it to his corner asking if he’d been knocked out, before stting down heavily on his stool and making it clear he had no interest in getting back up again.
“I’m done,” Leben told his corner. “Stop it.”
What wasn’t clear at the time was that ‘The Crippler’ wasn’t just talking about this fight – he was talking about his career, as this would be the last time he’d ever set foot inside the Octagon.
“I was a tough guy, I had some techniques, and that always worked for me,” Leben said after confirming his retirement. “But when you look at these guys now, like Uriah Hall, they’re just a different breed of athlete than I am.”
