...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When Chris Leben fought Michael Bisping in Birmingham, England at UFC 89 in 2008, he was suspended for a year when he tested positive for steroids. Fast forward three years, and Leben has been suspended for a year once again after a fight in Birmingham.
The UFC announced on Monday that they have suspended Leben for a year following a positive test for the painkillers Oxycodone and Oxymorphone after his fight with Mark Munoz at UFC 138.
"I like Chris and I want him to do well, but based on his actions, he's been suspended for one year," UFC President Dana White said in a statement. "If he needs professional help, we are going to be there for him. We want to see him succeed not only in the Octagon, but in his personal life."
"I would like to make it known that I fully accept this suspension and apologize for embarrassing the UFC, my friends and family, and sport of mixed martial arts," Leben said. "I'm learning that I'm my own worst enemy sometimes. I can't succeed in the Octagon or in life behaving this way. I've got to make some real changes over the next year and I'm going to focus on getting my life and career back on track. Again, I'm sorry to the UFC and fans that've supported me since my days on The Ultimate Fighter."
Penick's Analysis: Sadly this isn't the least bit surprising. It's another in a long line of issues that Leben has had throughout his professional career. Whether it's been steroids, painkillers, DUIs, arrests, he hasn't seemed to learn from his past mistakes, and here he is in this situation again. The abundance of painkiller issues is very widespread, not just in MMA, but in all sports, and out of sports as well. Considering the battles Leben has been in throughout his career, this is a very big concern when the painkiller issue is brought in as well. I sincerely hope Leben can get some help to deal with any potential issues that may come about from the painkiller use, but this may ultimately be the end of his time in the UFC.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
