Uh Oh: Leben Sentenced to 35 Days in Jail; out of UFC 85 fight vs. Bisping (updated)
MMAmania.com is reporting that Chris Leben has been sentenced to a jail stint that may jeopardize his next scheduled bout:
…middleweight fighter Chris Leben was today sentenced to 35 days in jail. No other details were available at this time.
As explained by T. Jay Thompson, a friend of Leben’s, the UFC contender turned himself in to Oregon authorities in order to settle a DUI he was charged within ‘05. Leben needs a travel visa after he was booked to fight at UFC 85 in London against Michael Bisping, something he would not qualify for without settling his debt with the state. Leben has been living in Hawaii and was unsuccessful in transferring his probation to his new home state.
Update: According to Sherdog.com, Leben has now been pulled off of the UFC 85 card vs. Bisping. The UFC was apparently prepared for this possibility and already has backup plans in place. According to MMARated.com, Nate Quarry appears to be one of the possible alternatives to face Bisping.
Loading ...
May 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Ouch!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Man, that sucks. He tried to get it transfered, he turned himself in. Hard to feel sorry for a guy with a DUI and I don’t like Leben anyway but he could have just turned down the fight and never faced the music.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Yes. Not condoning drinking and driving, but it sound like he was at least looking to get things straightened out. If that is his first offense, it is very harsh punishment.
I had a DWAI when I was younger and I learned from my mistake, but during the course of completing my punishment, I saw that in NO way is every case treated the same, even if the circumstances are similar.
Hopefully he can get out early and keep growing as a person and a fighter.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
so if they keep him lined up with this fight, he’ll apparently be out of jail for TWELVE DAYS before it. what an insane story it would make if he ended up winning. “i’d like to thank all my friends on cell block d”.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Oh man, UK immigration will NOT like this. Better start lining up an alternate, Dana. Lee Murray, anyone?
Seriously though, this sucks for everyone, especially Leben.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Nate Quarry anyone?
May 8th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
i hope someone pisses all over lebens bed in the can…and then has his way with him.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Hopefully Quarry can take the fight, if not perhaps Jason Day. There are so many middleweight fights taking place right now in the UFC it’s hard to find replacements for this fight.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I would love to see Quarry vs. Bisping.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I hope they match Bisping with Quarry. This would be a real step up for both fighters. I couldn’t say who would win it, but I think it would be an excellent matchup. After the complete ugliness and lack of engagement that both Bisping and Quarry faced at UFC 83, they should be ready to fight again . . no doubt.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Quarry vs. Bisping will be cool, but I really wanted to see Leben fight him. For some reason when I heard about that fight, I had that “too good to be true” feeling…. Oh well.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I was really looking forward to this fight, which would have been a real brawl between two accomplished strikers.
Leben dropped the ball on this one. Had he made his Oregon court appearance, and assuming it was his first offense, he’d probably not done any jail time. The courts get a little pissed when people blow them off, and that’s probably why he’ll spend some time in the can.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
He was on parole Mike, Leben’s been in trouble a lot, no one gets 35 days for their first DUI
May 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
bisping v. jason “dooms” day??…. here comes the rubber guard
May 9th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
i thought of bisping vs quarry as soon as i heard of leben turning himself in. he would have demolished leben anyway. quarry is a better fight for bisping, if he expects to get anywhere near anderson silva. quarry didnt hardly get a scratch during his comedy act against starnes. and the rock has a ton of heart, i truly believe bisping is going to be a contender, but he better bring is A game when he steps in against the rock. wouldnt hurt for him to bring games B-Z either. should be a great opportunity for both fighters if it materializes.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
well, so much for Quarry getting the nod to face bisping. UFC just posted an article giving Jason Day the go ahead to face bisping. this fight probably loses some hype with losing leben and quarry as the replacement. i guess the UFC is rewarding Bisping for totally dominating charles mccarthy. put another notch in the win collum for bisping
May 9th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
i’m not sure i would be notching bisping’s bedpost just yet. day get’s looked past becasue he’s a UFC unkown. thus, this fight has a huge upside potential for him! couple that with homecrowd love for bisping you have fight of the night potential. you also have two well rounded fighters who mutually respect each other. bisping will be and should be favored, but so was belcher!
May 9th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
truer words were never spoken spoils, but i dont see this fight making it ut of the first.