On Chris Leben: How you know when it’s time for a fighter to retire

In Chris Leben's final UFC bout against Uriah Hall at UFC 168, he refused to answer the bell for the second round. No one…

By: Nate Wilcox | 10 years ago
On Chris Leben: How you know when it’s time for a fighter to retire
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

In Chris Leben’s final UFC bout against Uriah Hall at UFC 168, he refused to answer the bell for the second round. No one argued with his decision. It was obvious that Leben had nothing for Hall and that another round would simply result in more pointless brain trauma for the shot fighter.

Troubles with the video player? Watch it on YouTube.

Shortly afterward Leben announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on the MMA Hour.

Luke Thomas says it’s a good thing and that Leben’s sudden and uncharacteristic concern for his own health and welfare showed a kind of sanity that no professional fighter can afford to bring into the cage.

Here’s what Leben told Ariel Helwani:

“I’m 33 years old now, which isn’t the oldest for a fighter. But like I tell people, it’s not how old you are, but it’s how long you’ve been doing it. And I’ve been doing this game for quite a while,” Leben said.

“I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. I would like to still have my head on my shoulders and have a brain when I’m raising kids and doing all the other stuff that I want to be part of. I think it might just be time for me to gracefully bow out.”

Here’s Leben’s farewell interview from the MMA Hour:

Share this story

About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

More from the author

Bloody Elbow Podcast
Related Stories