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To many fans it was a long time coming. Nine year UFC veteran and Ultimate Fighter Season 1 competitor Chris Leben announced his retirement from MMA on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday. Leben ended his 33 fight career with 22 wins, 11 losses. He racked up wins over Wanderlei Silva, Aaron Simpson, and Jorge Santiago among a slew of other names and competed with Mark Munoz, Michael Bisping, and Anderson Silva. For many he was a fan favorite whose do or die attitude typified what MMA was supposed to be at it’s root. His 2010 run made him the comeback fighter of the year in the eyes of many. His defeats of Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama within 3 weeks of each other was one of the more spectacular stories that year. He never won a UFC title, but will be remembered in his career as the first ever WEC middleweight champion.
Here was what he had to say on the MMA Hour (via Shaun Al-Shatti):
Chris Leben to @arielhelwani on #themmahour: “As far as competing in the UFC, I think I am pretty much done.”
— Shaun Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) January 20, 2014
Chris Leben makes it official on #themmahour: “I’ve retired from competing in MMA.”
— Shaun Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) January 20, 2014
It’s a move that only makes sense on the end of a four-fight losing streak stretching back to 2011. there’s little left for Leben to accomplish at this point in his career and given the strong relationship that he’s always held with the UFC it’s very likely that they will find a position for him in the company if he wishes to have one. Several years ago Leben opened his own fight school on Oahu, but it appears to have closed in the last couple years. Stay tuned as we’ll be sure to keep you updated with more news and notes as this story develops.
Watch Leben make the announcement on the MMA Hour:
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