TUF 11 Finale – Chris Leben admits to pressure last time out, promises to improve against Simpson
UFC middleweight heavy hitter, Chris Leben has admitted he entered the octagon last time out under major pressure after losing previously to Jake Rosholt, and despite coming out with a win under his belt, “The Crippler” is promising further improvements this time around.
Speaking via UFC.com, Leben said:
“There was a lot of pressure. My fight before that (against Rosholt) was a terrible performance on my part and going into the Jay Silva fight I knew that I needed to change things. I went out to Oregon for over a month, just buckled down, put my nose to the grindstone and trained hard, and it definitely showed when I went out there. When I perform at my best, I think I beat anybody.”
“I think a lot of people expected me to just go out there and swing with him, and not that I don’t like knockouts, but I’m a smarter fighter than that. Martial arts is what I do. I come up with gameplans all day for my amateur and younger fighters, and the smart thing to do with a guy like Jay Silva is not to stand in front of him, but to put him on his back.”
“That’s the battle for any fighter. Once you get hit, certain guys naturally resort to shooting a double, other guys move backwards, and some guys like me move forward. Unfortunately I’ve allowed myself to get sucked into some swinging matches where I was just charging after a guy, and avoiding that is just discipline, and in the Jay Silva fight I think I showed it’s something I had a little more of.”
Leben then turned his attention to the job at hand, an “Ultimate Fighter” season eleven finale fight with Arizona based fighter, Aaron Simpson.
“He (Simpson) is a phenomenal athlete and he’s obviously accomplished a lot in his wrestling career. He’s also a little bit older, so he’s seasoned and I don’t think that nerves will be a problem with him, and he always comes in great shape. Obviously there are some holes in his game – wrestling is his number one attribute, he doesn’t move his head a ton and he’s a little bit heavy on his feet. It’s gonna be a great fight, and if I execute my game plan and perform the way that I know I can, I think I should take him out rather easily.”
“I’ve got my gym here in Honolulu, things are going well with this, and I think I’ve got a few more years left in this fight game. I definitely don’t plan to be a Randy Couture, but right now I feel myself growing and improving quite a bit, both with the mental part of the game and also physically. I’m getting stronger and faster, and as long I treat my body the way I should and I keep improving, I’m gonna continue to fight. But once I hit that spot where you go ‘I can beat most of the guys out here,’ but I feel like I’m not getting any better, that’s when I’m gonna pull it out. But I have gotten a lot smarter about my training, so if I continue to take care of my body and improve, then absolutely, the best is yet to come.”
“The Ultimate Fighter” season eleven finale is headlined by the two men looking to secure a six figure deal with the UFC, Court McGee and Kris McCray, as well as seeing light heavyweight veterans, Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine square off.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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