After watching Leben at 155....

Leben lost the fight but he also lost it mostly due to game planning.

Once Brunson got enough take downs he basically avoided engaging Leben anywhere else. No one wants to stand in the pocket with a guy like Chris, and I can understand why by it was pretty easy to see the Greg Jackson solution at work in this one.

Leben is one of those guys that hates to lose, but hates to lose to a point fighter more than anything else. One of the main reasons Dana keeps bringing him back is because he will always go out there and put on a show as long as his opponent is willing to fight. Brunson just wanted to wrestle and didn't get that much done from the top.

Credit to Leben for defending well from his bottom for the most part. He was great at using the cage to get back up but would have benefited much more from being able to sweep while in the center of the cage on his back.

I don't know how many fights Leben has left in him but if there are more than a couple he would be wise to put in the time working on take down defense. That is what really cost him he most recent losses, drug testing notwithstanding.
 
Leben lost the fight but he also lost it mostly due to game planning.

Once Brunson got enough take downs he basically avoided engaging Leben anywhere else. No one wants to stand in the pocket with a guy like Chris, and I can understand why by it was pretty easy to see the Greg Jackson solution at work in this one.

Leben is one of those guys that hates to lose, but hates to lose to a point fighter more than anything else. One of the main reasons Dana keeps bringing him back is because he will always go out there and put on a show as long as his opponent is willing to fight. Brunson just wanted to wrestle and didn't get that much done from the top.

Credit to Leben for defending well from his bottom for the most part. He was great at using the cage to get back up but would have benefited much more from being able to sweep while in the center of the cage on his back.

I don't know how many fights Leben has left in him but if there are more than a couple he would be wise to put in the time working on take down defense. That is what really cost him he most recent losses, drug testing notwithstanding.

With all the huge MWs and LHWs going down to MW Leben did look small. Maybe 170 is a good idea for him...
He always used to be fun to watch, maybe he had a bit of ring rust. Brunson didn't help, but he took the fight on 2 weeks notice, isn't a great fighter plus is a Jackson MMA fighter (meaning he wasn't going to risk a loss by fighting excitingly).
 
With all the huge MWs and LHWs going down to MW Leben did look small. Maybe 170 is a good idea for him...
He always used to be fun to watch, maybe he had a bit of ring rust. Brunson didn't help, but he took
the fight on 2 weeks notice, isn't a great fighter plus is a Jackson MMA fighter (meaning he wasn't going to risk a loss by fighting excitingly).

I totally agree. But i dont thin leben could make 155. His frame is pretty large as i recall.
 
Leben tweeted that he was in the best shape of his life, had a great camp, but said the ring rust got him. He looked in good shape. Some guys don't do well with long layoffs, I think its safe to put Leben into that category. He'll bounce back and knock cats out soon enough.
 
I think you guys are missing my point. There was something inherently sad about Leben after the fight. Given all his struggles and the fact he said was in the best shape of his life yet clearly lost to some D grade wrestler.... I donno.

Not looking good for him and for some reason it got to me.

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