Stann landed the first good blows of the evening with a series of kick punch combinations. Stann initiated a clinch and then Leben got a collar tie and began to land some hard uppercuts. Stann survived the clinch but Leben immediately looked to tie up again. Then a fierce exchange began and Stann dropped Leben. Stann let him survive though, if only briefly. Then Stann began to brutally pound Leben with knees and punches forcing ref Josh Rosenthal to stop the action.
Leben was a star of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, pioneering the troubled bad boy niche that has become a staple of the reality series. He began his UFC career with five straight wins but after a crushing first round loss to future champ Anderson Silva struggled for the next three years. He went 3-4 after the Silva loss before picking up his three straight wins in 2010.
Stann is the former WEC light heavyweight champion. He struggled after moving to the UFC’s 205lb class, going 2-2 with losses to Krzysztof Soszynski and Phil Davis. He submitted Mike Massenzio in his middleweight debut in August.
Stann has been training with Greg Jackson and many feel he has become a dramatically more complete Mixed Martial Artist under Jackson’s expert coaching.
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