Leben announced his retirement from mixed martial arts 25 months ago after dropping his fifth straight fight. “The Crippler” inexplicably quit on the stool after getting battered by Uriah Hall at UFC 168.
Now 35, Leben looks to collect another paycheck. I mean, he got the itch to step back in the cage again after coaching rejuvenated him.
“Focusing on just coaching at Victory MMA has been amazing, but recently, I started to get the itch to compete again,” Leben said. “So I extended an olive branch to the people at Bellator and here I am.