Chris Leben Suspended 9 Months For Positive Drug Test
The UFC today announced that middleweight Chris Leben has been suspended by the UFC after testing positive for the steroid stanazolol following his unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping last month at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England.
The UFC handed down a nine month suspension for the violation and also fined him one-third of his purse.
“I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track,” said UFC President Dana White. “To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization.”
“I’ve really done everything I can to turn my life around, and this is a huge setback for me, but it is something I will have to deal with,” said Leben. “During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all of my fans. I apologize to the UFC and everyone who supported me in my fight in England. I hope to work through this and get back to fighting soon.”
Because the UK has no athletic commission which oversees mixed martial arts events in the coutry, the UFC administered their own drug tests for the event. The promotion opted to test all 22 fighters, with the remaining 21 fighters who participated on the October 18th card passing their pre- and post-fight drug tests.
Tags: Chris Leben
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WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????
What The Fuucckk
that is simply RETARDED cannot believe that this BS was done Leben really..? JohnBoy have fun with this you deserve it…..
F~ING RETARDED bottom line
Disappointing…
I cannot believe that this has happenend, very bad for leben… will he be back in the UFC after the nine months.. any thoughts??
i like leban man i only bad mouthed him cos he was fighting my boy the count but still, not even a druged up leban can beat the count haha i think the count is unstoppable
by the way wat would of happened if leban would of won the fight?? disqualifed?? the win still count??
Like other anabolic steroids, stanozolol is classified as a controlled substance under federal regulation. In New York, the state legislature classifies anabolic steroids under DEA Schedule II.
Used illegally in bodybuilding, typically “stacked” with other testosterone-based anabolic steroids, stanozolol is liked by many due to the fact it causes strength increases without excess weight-gain, promotes increases in vascularity, and will not convert to estrogen. It also does not cause excess water retention, and even sometimes is thought to have a diuretic effect on the body.
Stanozolol is commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders alike to lose fat while retaining lean body mass. It is usually used in a “cutting cycle”, to help preserve lean body mass while metabolizing adipose, although it has not been proven conclusively that it has any special fat-burning properties.
Perhaps this is why he looked in such great and/or phenominal shape hmmmmmm possibly?
And highly dissapointing…
I’m going to try really hard to cut up the count because this topic really isn’t about him. Leben is a great fighter to watch.. it’s always exciting because he is willing to absorb punches for fun most other fighters would get put to sleep taking.
Case in point.. fight with bisping.. once leben realized bisping literally did not have the power to knock him out he just walked at him and made his own shots. Hard for refs to score IMO.. because on one hand.. the opponent is landing shots.. but on the other hand.. they arn’t effective. Bottom line if Leben dosn’t finish the fight he usually takes so many punches he will never pickup decision win.
Sad really.. he was a great example to young fighters coming up through the TUF show in what you can do in MMA from being a nobody.
Guess he will be an even bigger example of what not to do once you get to the big time as well.. too bad I’ll miss his iron chin getting knocked around.. I mean really.. that terminator walk at the end of the bisping fight was damn outrageous.
johnboy surely the win would’ave been taken away if he won but why take the f***in risk in the 1st place!leben is a dumbass end of!
i agree with Vinz.
bisbing is not unstoppable. sorry johnny. I too like bisbing, but he still has alot to prove. that countering technique of his against opponents he knows that have knock-out power will only take you so far.
and yeah i believe that would be the reason why leben looked ripped. o well i’m sure he will be back.
leben making apperances to kids to tell them not to use drugs…
first i’ll beleive when i see it
second if i was a lil kid id be like “who is this guy?”
third, i wouldnt listen to him anyways, how many lectures did you have to attend in school? and how often did you listen or try to look down the shirt of the girl sitting next/near to you?
maybe this issue of performance drugs needs more investigation… perhaps require athletes to do bi-anual testing, as well as pre-fight drug tests… it wouldnt be hard to adpot the same/similar drug testing standards that the olympics use…. and doing such testing would help validate the sport that much more for main stream…
its not hard to beleive that in 2-4 more summer olympics that mma could be an event… with judo and taekwando dieing off in veiwers and participation i could see mma coming soon…
hell at this years olyimpics judo and taekwando wasnt even shown… they showed some wrestling which was good but they need more…
Well with the signing of Kang you lose one 85er and gain a 85er soo perhaps in Kangs second or third UFC fight him and Leben should have a match
Its too bad but stupid on his part, you know your going to get tested or did he think the UK would not have tests.
When fighters get caught like Sherk or now Leben i cant take them seriously again with out wondering if they’re cheating and have maybe found a way to avoid detection. No wonder he looked so much better, maybe the real Leben would lose to Kalib.
It is disappointing that Leben was doping. Its good though that they caught him.
jiujitsuMAN,
They are increasing their testing. For Randy and Brock they tested them 3-4 weeks before the fight, and they’ll do the regular pre & post fight testing. If you figure, on a fighter fighting 3-4 times a year, with testing pre & post fight, plus testing 3-4 weeks before the fight, that’s 9-12 times a year they are tested, so potentially they could end up getting tested monthly. Probably more randomly would be good, but they are moving in the right direction in that regard.
i agree and as much as these events momentarily hurt the sport(as it does any sport) the growth that comes from it is worth it in the long run…
my comment about fighters getting tested at least 2 times per year is for those who havent fought, regardless of why, be it injury or whatever…
and i sure hope that fighters get the picture and should KNOW exactly what they are taking… in todays day and age there are no excuses that can be used to attempt to get away with banned substances…
its like testing positive for heroine after eating a poppyseed bagel…. if you know you are gonna be tested why take the chance on it…
im gonna quote tupac for a moment ” if mike tyson doesnt wanna get ko’d he doesnt step in the ring ”
what i mean by that is, if you dont think you can win with your own two hands then you have already lost and drugs arent gonna help you win because the foundation is already broken…
someone also asked what would have happend if he had won… it likely would have been ruled a no-contest…
Get over it guys! Leben’s trainer gave it to him and he just put it on. Some sort of clear cream or somethin…big deal…
Actually, Leben is a F-ING idiot! I am a big fan but damn….
yeah i don’t think its that big of a deal.. there are alot of banned substances you can get over the counter that are “steroids” but it is his fault.. and he is paying the price..
He could have used the Bonds argument “I never knowingly took steroids…” Eh, at least he fessed up to it, but its not exactly good to go from an alcy to a roider.
Hahahahaha.
I thought he looked too good.
Dana White gave this guy the headline shot. Right
WTF – like Dana didn’t f’n know!!!
Dana is not going to suspend Chuck or Brock so he goes after the mid cards.
It’s all Dana’s fault.
You get it !!!!!
I’m not surpized at all, however a little dissapointed.
I am suprized a little that they drug tested though since overseas fights have the stereotype of not being drug tested (I.E. Dan Hendersons admition to PrideFC allowing steriods to ensure great fights)
But with Leban going 6-0 before running into A. Silva then dropping back to back loses to Kalib (run away) Starns and Jason MacDonald, both of which are not exactly super stars, he needed big wins. His win over Terry Martin was great because at the time people thought Terry was something other than an overweight WW trying to be mike tyson. luckily he fixed that for us. But then his KO over Sakarai showed great improvment. a win over Bisping put him right in title contention again, so using a little juice makes some sense in a “what have you won lately” sport.
Johnny Blaze said it all…..
IDIOT!!!!!
Haha…..gonna talk to kids. This guy is a stroke. I have an idea…lets DO bring Miletich back to the UFC and let him go nuts on Leban. I dont know why he wanted to say sorry to his fanS….when its really his Fan. Who really likes him?
Leben’s the one fighter in the UFC who always made me feel like I was watching a wannabe superstar prowrestling embarrassment. Suddenly, for one single night I think this clown actually has his **** together and I’m prepared to not be all over the guy for being a moron and a bad fighter. So, here I am shaking my head today wondering how I could have been fooled by someone who has proven himself to be nothing greater than one dimensional. And the truth is, it doesn’t ****ing matter and I owe Leben a “Thank You” for revisiting a life lesson that I guess I forgot about, which is, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”
That hair should have been a sign that something was very, very wrong. Possible side effect?
Chris Leben is a good fighter. So what if he did some “performance” enhancing drugs. It did not help him win the fight. He still lost the fight, that should be punishment enough. I don’t think Leben needs to take any “drugs” to perform better, he is still young. Now, one could make the argument that Couture, Liddell or some of the more seasoned fighters could justify taking “performance” enhancing drugs because the human body does not recover as fast when it is older. It would help them to be on the same playing field as the younger fighters who do not need the “drugs”.
LONG LIVE THE CRIPPLER!!
If Liddell or Randy did enhancing drugs do u know what that would do to their legacy? I think they would be too concerned about that.. Mind you I definately see your point, and it is unfortunate that Leben did this but he did own up to it, and good on the UFC for suspending him..
Why LEBEN!!!!!???? I was his biggest fan and he was one of the reasons i got into mma, i loved they way he fought. But i hate Roiders with a passion, there all pussies. I wanna hear and beleive something like “Oh i didn’t know it was illegal” or something like that, but thats all crap too. DAMN IT Leben!!! I feel like a school girl that just got cheated on. What should i do guys,leave him or love him, any good ideas?
What a dumbass dude! After ALLLLL the steroid $hit that’s been going on in sports period, who the fu*k is stupid enough to do that? I’m seriously surprised.
But in my opinion, he wasn’t going to do anything in the mw division anyways, so whatever dude, go to affliction.
Stand by your man give him another chance, hahaha too funny
i bet 20 bucks on that fight what a shame not that he was on drugs but that he still lost. i have been a leben fan since tuf 1 it sucks to see him make foolish choices and ruin not only his career but his name. however i will hope that he can turn himself around and be someone in the ufc. if one day he wins something big clean i will be happy but i just won’t consider myself a fan after this.
To FR702,
I definitely understand what you are saying about Randy or Chuck jeopardizing their legacies. I was only using them as an example because they are some of the more seasoned fighters. Because it is difficult to make the argument that the older athletes have the same physical potential as the younger ones. Either way if these guys are using “performance” enhancing drugs, they still have to work like mad men to get their bodies in the conditioning that they do.