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Over the Hill or Exposed Can 3


Mangasm

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It's been quite a while since the last installment so I'll explain how this works. We look at a fighter on the skids to see if he's just gotten older and past his prime or whether he finally rose to the level of his ineptitude. This is not about whether the sport has evolved past a fighter or not, this is for those people who say things like a "prime" Royce Gracie would beat GSP or "prime" Fedor would dominate the UFC. I'm sure we'll have confusion anyways so let's just get underway.

 

Today's fighter is: Chris Leben

 

Age:32

Record before "fall": 21-6

Current record: 22-9

Biggest Wins: Wanderlei Silva, Sexyama, Mike Swick

Worst Losses: Jake Rosholt, Derek Brunson, Anderson Silva

Excuse: Fights blankets

 

Leben is known everywhere for having an iron chin and dynamite in his hands, and plodding forward like a zombie for the duration of a fight. Leben opened up his career with a 15-1 record before receiving a fight with Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 5. This would become an infamous fight, as Anderson landed 100% of his strikes, exposing just how terrible Leben's striking defense is. Following that fight he beat official "to be crushed" can Jorge Santiago before losing to solidly sub par Jason MacDonald and the man famous for running away an entire fight YEARS before Condit, Kalib Starnes.

 

Following this stretch he bounced back and forth between wins over sub par competition and losses to sub par competition. In 2010 he experienced a career revival; getting three wins in a row, one of which over heavy favorite Yoshihiro Akyama. Following this streak he got KTFO by Brian Stann. In return he KTFO Wanderlei Silva. Since that win he's lost to both Mark Munoz and Derek Brunson, both losses due to his poor takedown defense.

 

My Verdict: Leben has a good chin and power, with little to no technical skill. The lion's share of his wins come from KO's over sub par fighters, or at least strikers willing to stand directly in front of him. His win over Wanderlei is impressive, but his win over Akyama loses a good deal of credibility given that Yoshihiro cannot get a win in the UFC to save his life. Combining this with his losses any time he nears the top 10 and it's pretty clear Leben is simply not a good fighter.

 

Exposed Can

 

 

Unfortunately due to this terrible new piece of **** forum I can't figure out how to add a poll, add images, or even bold words. So sorry for how bland the layout is on this one

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