UFC middleweight Chris Leben says all is well at his new gym, Ultimate Fight School, in Honolulu, Hawaii, with new students and a burgeoning fight team keeping him busy 24/7.
"They always say it's going to be more work than you can imagine, and they're right," Leben told MMAInsider of his new CEO job. "I'm a very busy man."
One of his welterweights, Andrew "Danger" Cohea, is set to compete in longtime Hawaii promoter T.Jay Thompson's new show, Kingdom MMA, on April 18, with an opponent yet to be booked.
The colorful brawler says UFC matchmaker Joe Silva is targeting an August return for him.
Following his decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89 in London, Leben was suspended for nine months by the UFC after a post-fight drug test revealed the presence of stanozolol, a performance enhancing steroid. He also forfeited one third of his fight purse.
Leben's suspension is complete in late July, and appears a ready-made fit for a late summer card currently in the works.
The unannounced UFC 102, first leaked to MMA fans by UFC executive and majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta, is reportedly being planned for August 29 at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Or.
Previously, the "City of Roses" was under consideration for UFC 101 on Aug. 8, with native son Randy Couture set to do battle against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the main event, but subsequent reports confirmed that Philadelphia, Pa. had taken its place. Though Fertitta did not give the reason for the change, MMA's legalization in the East Coast state, taxes levied on the promotion by its athletic commission, and a fervent fan base all likely played parts in the decision.
But for now, it appears the Northwest will not be left out.
Leben was born in Portland and spent much of his profession career in the suburb of Gresham through his work with Team Quest.
"It would be a dream come true," said Leben of a possible fight in his hometown.
UFC middleweight Chris Leben is the proud owner of a new gym in the Aloha state. After moving to the island in 2007 to take on the role of head coach at ICON Sport gym in Oahu, he is striking out on his own as the owner of Ultimate Fight School in Honolulu. The gym is two blocks away from the University of Hawaii campus, and Leben says its name leaves no confusion to curious parties.
"I've been coaching for for other people for so long," he told MMAInsider. "I'm just happy to be at a place where I pick the music, and I pick how I get to train people. I couldn't be happier."
Leben says he'll be ready to fight in July, when his UFC suspension ends. Following UFC 89, Leben was the second fighter suspended by the promotion for performance enhancing drugs.
"It was a setback," Leben says of the punishment. "I realized I don't have time for setbacks. I've got to do it the old fashion way, just work, work, work. It's water under the bridge."
He'll have the same routine for fight camps, flying training partners to his gym, then making the trek to his original home, AMC Pankration, in the 5 to 6 weeks before a fight. Now, he's training six days a week.
If the UFC decides to open one of their branded gyms in his neighborhood, he won't worry.
"I don't think it can hurt anything," he says. "Anything that brings more attention to our sport is a good thing. There's a lot of excitement around the school on campus."
The website for Leben's gym is www.ultimatefightschool.com.
Chris "The Crippler" Leben went into UFC 89 with the intentions of knocking Michael "The Count" Bisping out, but found himself at the end of the Englishman's punches and unable to solidly connect with his looping strikes.
Frustration mounted in the waning moments of round two when Leben dropped his hands and walked in without defense into Bisping's jabs in an effort to get The Ultimate Fighter season three winner to exchange with him.
Leben would repeat the same tactic in the final seconds for round three. "He had landed more shots during the fight. I knew he had probably won those other rounds, so I said, I've got to draw him in somehow," explained Leben.
"I was playing ever card I had. At that point I was like screw the straight. I was trying to get him to come in and bang with me a little bit and maybe I can land that shot," he added. "Sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. This time I didn't. It was Bisping's night."
Chris Staab and Double Vision Productions created a web-based documentary series on Chris Leben, who is slated to face Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Birmingham, England. These are short five to six minute videos that give an interesting behind the scenes type look at Chris Leben and his Team Icon fighters in Hawaii.
In this fifth episode Chris gets tatted by world renowned tattoo artist Mike Ledger, and then works on his boxing skills.
Leading up to his UFC 89 bout with Chris Leben in Birmingham, England, Michael Bisping has started a video blog that has episodes on his official website, Bisping.tv.
This is great informal look at Bisping and what he's going through as the days narrow down and Saturday nears.
Continue to check back to the MMA Insider Blog for more video blog entries from Michael Bisping.
Leading up to his UFC 89 bout with Chris Leben in Birmingham, England, Michael Bisping has started a video blog that has episodes on his official website, Bisping.tv.
This is great informal look at Bisping and what he's going through as the days narrow down and Saturday nears.
Continue to check back to the MMA Insider Blog for more video blog entries from Michael Bisping.
Chris Staab and Double Vision Productions created a web-based documentary series on Chris Leben, who is slated to face Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Birmingham, England. These are short five to six minute videos that give an interesting behind the scenes type look at Chris Leben and his Team Icon fighters in Hawaii.
In this fourth episode Steve English (strength and conditioning coach at ICON Fitness Center) takes Chris and June to see his friends at Skydive Hawaii for a quick jump at 14,000 ft..
Leading up to his UFC 89 bout with Chris Leben in Birmingham, England, Michael Bisping has started a video blog that has episodes on his official website, Bisping.tv.
This is great informal look at Bisping and what he's going through as the days narrow down and Saturday nears.
Continue to check back to the MMA Insider Blog for more video blog entries from Michael Bisping.
Chris Staab and Double Vision Productions created a web-based documentary series on Chris Leben, who is slated to face Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Birmingham, England. These are short five to six minute videos that give an interesting behind the scenes type look at Chris Leben and his Team Icon fighters in Hawaii.
In this third episode Chris goes through some rigorous training with strength and conditioning coach Steve English.
Leading up to his UFC 89 bout with Chris Leben in Birmingham, England, Michael Bisping has started a video blog that has episodes on his official website, Bisping.tv.
This is great informal look at Bisping and what he's going through as the days narrow down and Saturday nears.
Continue to check back to the MMA Insider Blog for more video blog entries from Michael Bisping.
Chris Staab and Double Vision Productions created a web-based documentary series on Chris Leben, who is slated to face Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Birmingham, England. These are short five to six minute videos that give an interesting behind the scenes type look at Chris Leben and his Team Icon fighters in Hawaii.
In this second episode Chris takes a few members of the Icon Fight Team on a mission to the top of Koko Head Crater. The mission... to replace a damaged heavybag that has been a the top of the mountain for years.
Watch Chris Leben Evolution of an Icon: Episode 1.
Our friends over at BetUs.com have odds up for many of the upcoming UFC and WEC fights. Of course, they've got a couple of lines for Saturday's UFC 89 event in Birmingham, England.
The latest odds for UFC 89 as of Tuesday evening have Michael Bisping favored over Chris Leben, and Brandon Vera over Keith Jardine.
Chris Staab and Double Vision Productions created a web-based documentary series on Chris Leben, who is slated to face Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Birmingham, England. These are short five to six minute videos that give an interesting behind the scenes type look at Chris Leben and his Team Icon fighters in Hawaii.
This first episode gives viewers an introduction to Leben and his surroundings at the Icon gym.
Since making his move to the middleweight division, popular British fighter Michael Bisping has had a very hard time keeping his name away from matchmakers across the globe putting him in a title fight against current UFC champion Anderson Silva.
Bisping takes the fans enthusiasm as a huge compliment, but also knows ultimately it's up to the UFC who he fights and when.
"Me personally, I take the compliment from it, but I don't read too much into it," Bisping said to MMAWeekly Radio recently. "Obviously, it's very flattering."
Never one to jump ahead of himself, the Brit admits that he'd always accept a title shot, but it's not something he wishes for yet at this point in his career as a 185-pounder.
"If a title fight was offered in my next fight, obviously I'd take it, but right now if I had a say in it, I wouldn't want that just yet," Bisping stated. "I'm still maturing as a fighter. I'd still want two or three more fights before I got that opportunity."
First things first, Bisping takes his shot at Chris Leben this weekend in England at UFC 89.
There's no denying that Chris Leben will be the one stepping into the lion's cage when he faces Michael Bisping at UFC 89 on Saturday night... and that's fine by him.
Bisping is far and away the biggest mixed martial arts star in England and the crowd will be whole-heartedly behind him when he and Leben enter the Octagon.
Leben addressed the crowd situation in a recent UFC conference call promoting the fight:
"Michael's a star over here and it's an honor to fight him over here. I wouldn't want it any other way. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I like being the bad guy. I really do.
There's nothing cooler than... he can make thousands of people scream, that's cool, but when, come the 18th, when I make 'em all go dead still and quiet, that's going to be something real special."
Of course, Bisping couldn't let that lie, and you could hear the Cheshire grin on his face through the phone line when he responded, "Well, just don't count on that experience."
This is the Ultimate Fighting Championship's official promotional video for UFC 89 in England. The Oct. 18 fight card features a main event of Ultimate Fighter alumni Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben.
The main card is scheduled to air on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/PT on a tape delayed basis: -Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben -Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (#8 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Luiz Cane -Keith Jardine (#10 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Brandon Vera -Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly -Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
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