Why Chris Leben Is the Arturo Gatti of MMA Inside & Outside the Cage

Chris Leben is still inside the limits of his second suspension after he was busted for using banned substances in his fight with Mark Munoz at UFC 138. It's the second time he has been caught using an illegal substance in the cage.

Dana White decided to stick by the fan-friendly fighter and support the longtime employee and alum of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Part of it is due to Leben's nature and the fact that he is a decent promoter and what seems like a nice guy. The other part is that he puts people in the seats and gets them to buy pay-per-views.

He is equal parts destructive and self-destructive. In that way, he is just like boxing legend Arturo Gatti. Able to channel the energy needed to take out opponents, but when he isn't fighting, the energy needs to go somewhere else.

Gatti isn't ever going to make into the Boxing Hall of Fame because of a perfect record or multiple championships. He is going to be enshrined because he put on some of the most spectacular comebacks and fights that fans could imagine.

Leben is much of the same.

A person could watch his comeback against Terry Martin or his gutsy attempt to come back against Brian Stann and be impressed easily. Win or lose, Leben will try to the point where it seems like he doesn't fear death.

Gatti was able to slug with fighters who he couldn't beat, but would come out round after round to take his punishment. In most of those cases, he ended up being beaten. Sometimes, he could turn it around and win.No matter what, whenever Gatti stepped through the ropes, fans knew they wouldn't be disappointed.

Every time Leben steps in the cage, he delivers.

The only opponent Leben can't seem to beat is himself. From positive drug tests to battles with alcohol, he just can't quit finding ways to damage his reputation and his body. He seems to lack a stability and sense in life that follows him into fights.

Gatti was a bit of a wild child himself until he died. It can't be known if it was suicide or if his wife killed him, but what is obvious is that he was in a tumultuous situation.

Leben is nowhere near as bad as he used to be with substance abuse, but his positive drug test after the Munoz bout showed that he isn't out of the woods yet. For all the exciting fights he has put on, he has yet to conquer the same demons that claimed Gatti not to long ago.

When Leben returns from competition, hopefully he will be the fighter he was before he left.

And hopefully he will learn from Arturo Gatti and face down his issues as courageously as he does his opponents in the cage.

Because if he doesn't, he just might end up like him.