This weekend, one former UFC competitor will be an Octagon-side judge.
That ex-prizefighter is none other than Chris Leben. ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that "The Crippler" will be filling in scorecards during this Saturday night's UFC Vegas 79 card inside the UFC Apex.
Here is the tweet from Raimondi:
Leben has confirmed the ESPN journalist's report, expressing gratitude for the opportunity.
"Grateful," Leben wrote.
As Raimondi mentioned, Leben has been a referee and a judge for MMA events in the state of California. This time, he's taking his services to Nevada for a fight card promoted by the company he once called his fight home.
Leben became a fan favorite throughout his pro MMA career. "The Crippler" had memorable fights against the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Terry Martin, and Alessio Sakara to name a few.
The last pro MMA fight for Leben took place late 2013. He suffered a TKO loss to Uriah Hall, but that wasn't the end of his combat sports journey. Leben entered the world of bare knuckle boxing five years later, scoring a first-round TKO victory over Phil Baroni. Leben's final combat sports bout took place back in February 2021, when he knocked out Quentin Henry in the opening frame.
It'll be interesting to see how Chris Leben fares as an MMA judge this weekend. Many have called for more ex-fighters with no ties to today's competitors to serves as judges, as opposed to the old guard that has been more known for scoring boxing matches.
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