UFC middleweight contender Chris Leben discusses his time off after the loss to Jason MacDonald, his upcoming fight at UFC 71 against Kalib Starnes, his new tattoo and whether or not upsets are good or bad for MMA.
PC: How are you doing Chris?
CL: Wonderful!
PC: How has training been going for your fight at UFC 71?
CL: It's been going real good. I've been working real hard. I can honestly say I'm in the best shape of my life and my weight's better than it's ever been. I'm doing the same thing going back and fourth between Portland and Seattle. It's nothing like a loss to get you focused.
PC: Who are some of the guys helping you get prepared for Kalib Starnes?
CL: In Seattle, of course I'm training with Matt Hume at Inzone Athletics. Sakara has been in town and a couple of other guys up there have been helping me. Down there at Team Quest, I've been training with Ed Herman, Chael Sonnen and all the guys from the Wolfpack have been down there.
PC: I hear you have a new huge tattoo on your back. Can you give us the details of that?
CL: Yeah, it's kind of like a Samurai warrior holding a severed head dripping with blood in his hand. I think it looks cool, you know?
PC: How long did that take Chris?
CL: Right now I have about 12 ½ hours into it, but you know it's a work in progress. We're going to keep going.
PC: At UFC 68, 69 and 70, they had what most people considered big upsets or at least minor ones. Do you think upsets are good or bad for MMA?
CL: That's the thing about mixed martial arts, it's anybody's game. As soon as a champion gets in there and starts to settle down and get comfortable, someone is coming around the turnpike after him. To tell you the truth, I think it's great. It shows you how different style matchups really make fights.
PC: You been making some guest appearances and kind of took some time off after the Macdonald fight. Did the time off serve its purpose?
CL: Yeah, it took awhile. I came to the realization that I don't need to be fighting 5 times a year. I used to fight once a month; 12 times a year. As you get better and progress, that should slow down. I would rather learn for a couple of months and go through the whole peeking process and go in there and fight at my maximum ability. Yeah, it was good to take some time off and have some fun and work on some of the skill and certain areas where I felt my game was lacking. I had a chance to kind of regroup and I don't feel burned out. I'm ready to go.
PC: You're fighting Kalib on the Liddell/Rampage card. How does it feel to get another opportunity on another highly anticipated Liddell card?
CL: It feels great. I'm glad they're putting me on a big card; probably the biggest show of the year. I'm really excited. It's going to be Memorial Day weekend and I couldn't be happier with them putting me on this card. It's kind of working out perfect for me right now.
PC: Kalib looked very well rounded on the show. What do you think of his fighting ability?
CL: I think he's a tough kid when he's fighting his fight. If you make him fight a fight that he's not used to or when he has to face adversity
when the going get's thick, it seems like Kalib get's going. He's a tough fighter though and if you let him play his game, he's a very dangerous guy.
PC: It really doesn't get much bigger than Liddell/Rampage 2. When you fight on a card of this magnitude, do you add any pressure on yourself to look good?
CL: For me every fight is the biggest fight of my life; the biggest in my career. There's a lot of pressure, but that's kind of what motivates me. I want to feel like, when I go out there win, lose or draw, I came with everything I can bring and I left everything I had in that cage.
PC: What can we expect to see from Chris Leben come May 26th?
CL: I'm going to look to knock him out. I like to keep it on the feet obviously and that's what I plan to do. I'm going to try and make him stand up with me and if he wants to take me down, then we'll see how his clinch and his ground game is. My plan would be to knock him out. If I'm on the bottom, I want to reverse him and stand up and if I'm on top, I'll probably beat on him for a while.
PC: What are your thoughts on the UFC purchasing Pride FC?
CL: It's good and bad. From a financial standpoint, as far as being a fighter, it's bad because that means that they don't have to compete against each other for our business basically. It's simple, you know? As a fan, you're going to start seeing fighter's crossing over which is going to start bringing some of those dream fights that all of us have been imagining for years.
PC: I'm not going to hold you any longer Chris. I appreciate you taking time out to do this interview. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
CL: June 1st I'm going to start coaching out of the gym for Icon Sports in Hawaii. Anybody wants to check us out man, look us up, we're online.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]