UFC veteran Chris Leben called it a career following a TKO loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 168. Now he’s saying that the lifestyle he led in the UFC is one that’s best behind him anyway. Here’s what he told Frank Trigg at MMA Oddsbreakers:
Must Reads
Must Reads
“It really is better now. The bottom line is, especially with all the illegal drugs, I was spending all the money I was making anyways. Six in one, half dozen in the other. I used to fight, the way I fought, I didn’t give a shit. ‘Fuck this, I could die tomorrow, let’s go out there and I’m gonna fucking kill this guy!’ That fire, I’d be lying if I said that fire was still in me these past couple fights. It hasn’t been. I hate to admit it, but shit’s going okay at home. My life’s alright. I’m a lot more of a mellow guy. Just getting older I guess. I don’t even know. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Leben was arrested for DUI in 2008 and served a 35 day sentence. In 2009 he failed a post-fight drug test for the steroid stanozolol. In 2010 he was arrested in Hawaii for suspicion of DUI after a one-car accident. In 2011 Leben failed another drug test, this time for the pain killers oxycodone and oxymorphone.
Leben talked to Bloody Elbow’s Trent Reinsmith in December and discussed his battles with recovery:
“I’ve been over two years without taking a pain pill, which was my hugest issue. I don’t drink any more. I have made a couple mistakes on drinking, but I’m a non-drinker now, and I don’t (drink).
I just take it one step, one day at a time. I’ve really had to make some huge changes about who I surround myself with and who my friends are, who I reach out to for support. The guys at Alliance all know what’s going on with me, and everybody’s been so supportive of where I’m at with that.”
Here’s wishing Leben all the best in his post-MMA future.
About the author
