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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Over nine years in the UFC, Chris Leben hit a couple of major highs, went through several major lows in and out of the cage, but kept himself a fan favorite in the cage throughout. That time has come to an end, as the 33-year-old officially announced his retirement from the sport on Monday.
"It's been a fantastic, wonderful ride," Leben said on Monday in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. "I've landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I'm starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things."
"After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and reevaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn't based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I've really retired from competing in MMA."
Leben lost to Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in December, his fourth loss in a row and fifth in six fights dating back to 2011. It was also his third stoppage loss in that time, and with the amount of damage he absorbed down the stretch, he feels it's time to walk away.
"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," he said. "And I've been doing this game for quite a while."
"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."
However, while he's on his way out of the sport due to those losses and accrued damage, Leben's feeling well and in a good place as he walks away.
"It was a wild ride, like I said, and a lot of times it was really uncomfortable," Leben said. "I definitely made some decisions that were not very good. But I think all that goes into ... the reason I'm in the situation I am now, and [why] I'm who I am right now, and I'm where I'm at right now. I think everything really happens for a purpose," Leben said in closing."
"I really am happy, and I think that's the biggest thing. I just don't have that mean streak anymore like I used to. I really am in a good place. I'm happy with my life. I have a good life. I'm not angry at anybody, so yeah, pretty amazing, but I definitely turned things around. [My wife and I have] been continuing to walk down the right road, She's kind of like my 401k. I've got her in law school down here in San Diego, so only the brightest is in the future for us."
Penick's Analysis: It's entirely likely the UFC would have released Leben this time around after his loss to Hall, as even his tenure in the UFC probably wouldn't have given him a shot after four-straight losses. Still, this probably would have been the correct move for him to make even if the UFC would have otherwise given him another fight. There's absolutely no need to see him take that type of damage in the Octagon again.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_19987.shtml
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