Leben Excited to Face 'Hero' Silva at UFC 132

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Chris Leben's style of fighting is a rarity at the highest level of MMA.

A quintessential slugger, the Oregon native will often take several shots just to land one of his trademark bombs. Known as one of the most exciting if not consistent fighters in the UFC's middleweight division, Leben will face Wanderlei Silva in the co-main event of UFC 132 on July 2.

It was about nine years ago that “The Crippler” claims he first desired to climb in the cage with Silva. In fact, the Brazilian served as one of Leben's sources of inspiration as a developing fighter.

“Honestly, I’m so excited to fight Wanderlei Silva. He's one of my heroes. Believe it or not, when I first started fighting, I’d go get bootleg Pride videos and watch him and try to emulate some of the things that he did,” said Leben during the UFC 132 conference call. “To be a legend, you've got to beat a legend. I’m so stoked. The passing of the torch is kind of what I’m hoping for.”

Though Leben openly expresses the excitement he feels from facing an icon like “The Axe Murder,” the southpaw is equally open regarding his reservations about fighting an opponent as infamous as the traditionally violent Silva.

“[Silva] is an animal, you know? There's nothing more motivating than the fear of a coma,” said Leben. “I’m focusing a lot harder on my diet, and when I’m in the gym, I’m in the gym 110 percent. I’m putting everything in, and I want to go out and win this fight. But regardless if I win, lose or draw, I want to put on a fantastic show for the fans. I might be a little worried, but I’m going to get in there and do what I do. We look our fears in the eye and then we conquer them.”

In spite of his admitted trepidation with respect to his opponent, Leben is by no means satisfied with simply showing up to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Leben has used his power and toughness to overcome seemingly more skilled opponents in the past, and the fighter believes that Saturday will prove to be no exception.

“I have fought guys in the past who I thought were better fighters than me, and truth be told, I ended up winning those fights. Looking back at my career, I’ve won a lot of fights that I should have lost on paper, and that's just grit,” said Leben. “I want to be known as a top guy. If you're fighting Chris Leben, you need to be careful, because you know he's coming to fight.”

Leben recently had a three-fight winning streak snapped in January when he was knocked out by Brian Stann at UFC 125, a loss that “The Crippler” says he took especially hard.

“A loss is never good. I had to go to counseling about that damn loss,” said Leben. “But the bottom line is that you've got to get back on the horse. I’ve been around for a while to the point that a loss isn't going to make me perform badly in my next fight. I don't lose all my belief in myself or anything like that. I look back and I go, 'Well, I messed up. OK, what worked in that fight? What worked in my camp? What didn't work?' After I analyze that, I change a few things, and that's what I’ve done.”

After coming in heavy and undergoing a difficult weight cut prior to his loss to Stann, Leben was openly critical of his actions. According to the fighter, he's now monitoring his diet much more closely, a fact that complies with his purported evolution as a mixed martial artist.

“The way I look at it is that this sport is a continual learning curve. I’ve never stopped learning, and that's not just with the skills that we learn, but also with our life outside of fighting,” said Leben. “Everything we go through, I’m constantly trying to tweak and change and find out how I can get another two percent out of myself.”

Despite his continual development, Leben has taken some serious punishment in his nearly 10 years as a pro. However, although the fighter has put quite a few miles on his body, he claims that there is still plenty of tread on his tires and will continue to fight for the foreseeable future, regardless of his outcome against Silva.

“There are so many benefits that go along with what we do that I don't see myself throwing in the towel. The fact of the matter is that I’ve still got some things I want to accomplish in this sport. I’m not retiring any time soon.”