» Fighter: Chris Leben

Middleweight “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-7) has been suspended 30 days by the Oregon State Athletic Commission following getting choked unconscious by Jake Rosholt (6-1) at UFC 102 in Portland Saturday.

Leben, an original The Ultimate Fighter contestant, is required to have a CT scan of possible facial fractures before his suspension is lifted.

Heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer (15-2) has been suspended 45 days with a facial laceration after his first-round TKO loss to “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4).

Read More About Chris Leben Requires CT Scan, Chris Tuchscherer Suspended With Facial Laceration After UFC 102…

“Crippler” Chris Leben (18-6) tested positive for the banned substance Stanozolol after his unanimous decision loss to “The Count” Michael Bisping (17-1) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October, according to the UFC Monday.

Leben will be suspended for nine months and forfeit one-third of his fight purse.

Stanozolol is an anabolic steroid derived from testosterone.

UFC President Dana White said, “I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track.“

White added, “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.”

Leben’s fight versus Bisping was originally scheduled for UFC 85 in June in London, England, but had to be postponed while Leben served a prison sentence for an old DUI probation violation.

British middleweight “Count” Michael Bisping (17-1) dominated “Crippler” Chris Leben(18-5) for a unanimous decision by judges’ scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 once at UFC 89 in Birmingham Saturday night.

“It was a tough fight, don’t get me wrong; but, I felt comfortable all the way through it,” Bisping said after the “W”.  “At no point did I feel really in danger.”

Read More About UFC 89: Bisping Beats-Up Leben in UD…

All UFC 89 fighters made their weight today at the NIA for Saturday’s card in Birmingham.

“Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) 185 pounds v “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) 186 pounds

“I’m glad you guys let me into your country,” main event fighter Leben said at Thursday’s press conference.  “I was a little worried on the plane.”

Leben was originally scheduled to fight Bisping in London 7 June, but opted to put to rest legal issues in Oregon stemming from an earlier DUI arrest to ensure a legal UK visa.

But, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Brit Bisping, who told the press, “I am on a quest.  Losing this fight for me is not an option.”

Leben, wearing tight cornrows, chided his opponent, saying, “It seems to me that, when Michael Bisping fights, self-preservation is top on his list.”

A brawl would certainly benefit Leben.  Bisping’s stand-up style is a bit more circle-and-poke, while Leben is happy to plant and throw bombs.

Read More About UFC 89: Bisping & Leben Make Weight…

SpikeTV announced Monday that it will air all twelve episodes of the debut season of reality show The Ultimate Fighter, as well as the finale, on 13 September.

Clips of a reunion special filmed recently at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas will air throughout the marathon.

TUF 1 cast members involved in the reunion are Fighters.com’s Light Heavyweight Champion and current UFC champion Forrest Griffin (16-4), Chris Leben (18-4), “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-4), Josh Koscheck (11-2), “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3), “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), Bobby Southworth (9-5), and “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2).

The reunion special will be hosted by Joe Rogan, and UFC President Dana White will also be on hand to discuss the impact the show has had on the UFC and on the sport of mixed martial arts.

A bout between “The Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) and “The Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) will take place 18 October in Birmingham, according to UK UFC President Marshall Zelaznik.

Zelaznik made the announcement Thursday on the Setanta News Ultimate Talk Show, a weekly UFC news show airing in the U.K.

Bisping and Leben were previously scheduled to fight at UFC 85 in London 7 June, but the match was scrapped when Leben had to serve time for a parole violation.

The Count faced Canadian “Dooms Day” Jason Day (17-6) instead, punching him out to a TKO in the first round. It was his second consecutive win since dropping to the middleweight division.

The Crippler is also riding a two-fight win streak, knocking out Terry Martin (17-4) in the third round in September and finishing “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (12-7; 1 NC) at UFC 82 in March with a first-round TKO.

UFC middleweight “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) was sentenced to 35 days in a Clackamas County, Oregon jail Thursday for violating his probation.

Leben is scheduled to fight “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) in London 7 June.  The fight remained on the card at the UFC’s official website Friday morning.

Leben was credited for eight days served, which means he will be released just days before UFC 85.

Since Leben will be unable to appropriately train, his fight with Bisping is likely to be scratched from the UFC 85 card.

Thursday Adrenaline MMA, formed of the American executives from the now defunct M-1 Global promotion, issued it’s official fight card for the promotion’s Chicago premier 14 June.

As reported by Fighters.com, the main event matches grappler “The Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-7) versus wrestler Michael Russow (9-1) in a mat struggle.

“The Snowman” will fight Russow just two weeks after taking on Fighters.com’s third-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assasin” Josh Barnett (21-5) at Sengoku II in Tokyo.

UFC fighter turned boxer Terry Martin (16-4) will fight Japanese middleweight Daiju Takase (7-11-1) before his hometown crowd.

Martin comes off UFC losses to “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) and “Beastman” Marvin Eastman (15-7-1), but won his boxing debut 12 April with a knockout of Ricardo Upchurch (0-2 in boxing).

Lightweight jiu-jitsu player Alberto Crane (8-2), who lost both of his UFC fights, will bounce back matched against King of the Cage vet Clay French (15-2).

IFL lightweight standout “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski (28-11), who’s taken three tough losses consecutively, will rebound in his hometown versus Jeffrey Cox (9-5), who lost his UFC debut to “Pitbull” Manvel Gamburyan (8-2) last month in Denver.

Also on the card to be held at the Sears Centre:

“The Freak” Tony Fryklund (14-9) v Brian Gassaway (28-17-2)
Taiwan Howard (4-1) v Rory Markham (13-3)
James Giboo (11-2) v Mark Miller (8-3)
“Herc” Antoine Hayes (6-5) v “Meat Truck” Kerry Schall (21-9)
Rob Kimmons (20-3) v Hector Urbina (11-4)
Aaron Rosa (10-2) v “Killing Fields” Ron Fields (22-25-1)
Dom O’Grady (4-0) v Mike Stumpf (9-1)
Joe Jordan (39-12-2) v Ryan Williams (5-2)
Christian Reynosa (6-2) v John Hosman (7-3-1)

UFC middleweight “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) got popped for driving under the influence of alcohol in Oregon Wednesday night and is currently in the slammer for violating his probation, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Leben is on the UFC 85 roster to fight “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) in London 7 June.

Not Leben’s finest moment; but, big deal, I say.  Big deal you say?

We’re not U.K. Immigration.

Leben’s arrest is likely to lead to visa complications with the Brits and may knock him out of his showdown with “The Count”.

Since losing by unanimous decision to Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) last year, Leben has relocated to Hawaii and looked in the best shape of his career while knocking out Terry Martin (16-4) and “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (12-7).

Bisping is Leben’s biggest opportunity since getting obliterated in 49 seconds in Fighters.com’s first-ranked middleweight “Spider” Anderson Silva’s (21-4) UFC debut.

Friday the UFC announced two additional fights at UFC 85 in London.

Fresh from a first-round TKO of “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy (10-5) in Montréal, “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) will fight “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4).

Leben TKO’d “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (12-7) in March.

Also, “Sugar” Rashad Evans (11-0-1) has been added back to the card after his original opponent, “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5), was pulled with an injury.

He’ll face “The Sandman” James Irvin (14-4), who comes off a UFC record eight-second KO of Houston Alexander (8-3) in Denver earlier this month.