Is Chris Leben the Comeback Fighter Of the Year?

At the onset of 2010, Chris Leben’s future in the UFC and as a professional fighter was uncertain.

He had not won a fight since March 2008, and had had only one fight in 2009 following a lengthy suspension for a positive test for a banned substance after his unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping.

In August 2009, at UFC 102, Leben made his return from suspension in what would be his lone fight of 2009.

His opponent was Jake Rosholt, a WEC veteran who had lost his UFC debut via guillotine choke after Zuffa merged the WEC middleweight division with that of the UFC.

For the first two rounds of the fight, Leben implemented his game effectively.

He was able to avoid Rosholt’s wrestling and score points with strikes.

However, things changed quickly in the third round when Rosholt was able to take Leben down and pass his guard.

Leben was caught in an arm-triangle choke and lost consciousness. After the loss to Rosholt, many questioned whether or not Leben still had a place in the UFC.

Then, on Jan. 11 Leben met Jay Silva at UFC Fight Night 20. He earned a unanimous decision for his performance that night.

The victory was his first since March 2008.

Since the fight with Silva, Leben has garnered two very impressive victories over highly talented middleweight contenders.

Then, several months later at the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, Leben stopped respected middleweight prospect Aaron “A-Train” Simpson in the second round. Less than a month after his defeat of Simpson, Leben was brought in on short notice to fight the very tough Korean-Japanese contender Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Akiyama had originally been slated to fight the legendary former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva, but Silva had to pull out with an injury and Leben was tapped as a replacement.

With his win over Akiyama, Leben responded to his two back-to-back losses to Michael Bisping and Jake Rosholt with three consecutive victories in less than six months—two of which were by stoppage.

Leben has brought himself back from the brink of being dismissed from the UFC to defeating three opponents in a row. His wins over Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama were decisive victories over legitimate contenders at 185 lbs.

Before the fight with Silva at UFC Fight Night 20, Leben’s position in the division was uncertain.

Now that position is, without question, one of a contender.

If there has been one comeback story in 2010 worth discussing, it is Leben’s.