Chris Leben

Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights as a middleweight. Leben first appeared in the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. He began his UFC career with five victories in a row before suffering a knockout loss to current champion Anderson Silva. He has won bouts over Wanderlei Silva, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Santiago, Mike Swick, Jorge Rivera, Patrick Côté, and Alessio Sakara. Leben is currently ranked as the #10 middleweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly. Once, visiting his brother at work, Leben noticed an MMA gym located across the street, home to Team Quest. Trainer Robert Follis accepted Leben into the team, and soon Leben was training with Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Nate Quarry, and Ed Herman. After refining his talent, Leben began fighting as an amateur, achieving a record of 5–0, and capturing the FCFF and UFCF middleweight titles. After his success in the amateur ranks, Leben turned professional. He won his first five fights, three of them by knockout, and in the process won the Gladiator Challenge, Sportfight, and WEC middleweight