MMA Oddsbreaker’s Frank Trigg speaks with recently retired UFC middleweight Chris Leben, who stepped away from the sport following a tough loss to Uriah Hall on the UFC 168 preliminary card.
The former standout of The Ultimate Fighter season one is taking a mellower approach to retirement, and he readily admits that the same fire hasn’t burned inside him during the training for his final few fights:
“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.”