UFC 132 Fight Card: Top Quotes from Chris Leben on Fight with Wanderlei Silva

At UFC 132, Chris Leben will welcome Wanderlei Silva back to the Octagon after the Brazilian had been sitting out for well over one year due to injury. Leben will be looking to make a return of sorts as well, though, after suffering only the second knockout loss of his career in his last fight against Brian Stann.

The fight between Leben and Silva will serve as the co-main event for UFC 132, which will take place on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Leading up to the event, Leben and Silva joined the main event competitors, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, on the UFC 132 media call. Here are some of Leben's highlights from the call.

"I Had to Go to Counseling About That D--n Loss"

Heading into his last fight against Brian Stann, Chris Leben was riding a three fight winning streak and had climbed his way into the top 10 fighters in the UFC's middleweight division.

Unfortunately for Leben, his success came to a halt there, as he was finished by Stann in the first round. During the UFC 132 media call, Leben was asked what issues may have led to his loss against Stann.

"I'm full of issues, dude," Leben said. "I just had a s----y a-s performance."

Nonetheless, Leben was able to find some positive in his disappointing performance.

"There's nothing more motivating than a loss," Leben said. "It's continually a learning curve. I never stop learning."

"I went out and ate a bunch of candy after I made weight."

After Chris Leben's loss to Brian Stann, one of Leben's coaches released information that Leben had been sick heading into the fight at UFC 125.

However, Leben said there was no one to blame except himself for the way he felt as he entered the cage for his fight with Stann.

"That's my fault," Leben said. "I cut a bunch of weight. Then, I went out and ate a bunch of candy after I made weight."

"I Ain't Retiring Anytime Soon. I'll Tell You That."

Because of his brawling fighting style, Chris Leben leaves himself vulnerable to taking a lot of punishment during his fights. However, Leben doesn't plan on letting that put an end to his career in the near future.

"I fight for different reasons. Right now, it's more to inspire my kids at my gym."

Considering Leben's tendency to get into toe-to-toe wars with his opponents, one would think Leben lives for fighting. However, Leben admitted that wasn't exactly the case.

Describing his thoughts as he was standing across the cage from the first opponent of his professional career, Leben said, "What am I doing right now? This is retarded."

"Fighting Wanderlei, It's a Little Bit Easier for Me to Train a Little Harder"

A fight against an MMA legend such as Wanderlei Silva would be a huge one for any fighter in the sport today. For that reason, Chris Leben hasn't had any problems motivating himself to prepare for UFC 132.

"There's nothing bigger than a win over Wanderlei," Leben said. "That'd be huge."

In addition to the motivation of fighting a huge name in Silva, this was a fight Leben asked for after defeating Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116.

"From one point, it's be careful what you wish for," Leben said. "Joe [Silva] called me. He said, 'You got it.' I said, 'Oh, I guess I better start training.'"

"It took the UFC a little bit to get around to it, but here we are," Leben said. "July 2nd, my dream comes true. As far as that goes, stoked."

"There's nothing more motivating than the fear of a coma."

Over the course of his career, Wanderlei Silva has become recognized for his violent fighting style and brutal finishes. Leben is quite aware of how dangerous Silva can be, and he hopes to avoid becoming another victim of "The Axe Murderer."

"Have you seen some of his fights? He's an animal," Leben said.

Even if this fight doesn't end in a knockout, it is sure to be full of excitement. Both fighters agreed, stating their hope to get paid for Fight of the Night honors.

"I love money," Silva said. "I want a check of the best fight of the night, and maybe the best fight of the year."

Leben responded, "Let's get that bonus."

 

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter here.