Chris Leben says his combat sports career is over following a win over Quentin Henry at Bare Knuckle FC “KnuckleMania” on Friday.
Leben, who appeared on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and has a lengthy and memorable UFC career, transitioned to bare knuckle fighting after retiring from MMA and had some solid moments.
He got one final high in his light heavyweight fight with Henry, earning a first-round knockout victory at the event in Clearwater, Fla. in what was deemed as his farewell fight from combat sports.
Leben got the upper hand early in the fight, connected with an uppercut that damaged the left eye of Henry, who went down claiming an eye poke. Replays showed Leben landed a clean punch. The bout was restarted shortly thereafter, then the pair brawled it out.
In the midst of the exchange, Leben landed a pair of powerful left hands that hurt Henry and put him down for the 10 count, marking the knockout at the 1:07 mark of Round 1.
Man somebody had to go down pic.twitter.com/iJ8ngFHNah
— Steven Wright (@steventhewarman) February 6, 2021
After the fight, Leben confirmed he wouldn’t go out any other way.
“What a (expletive) way to finish a career right there, huh?” Leben said in his post-fight interview. “I wanted someone who was going to swing like a mother(expletive) at me, and what a way to finish a career. Thank you to Quinten and to BKFC. … If I had some gloves on, I would leave them in the ring.”
Leben, 40, had a 3-1 record in BKFC. In MMA, Leben (22-12) was the inaugural WEC middleweight champion, and his noteworthy wins include Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama.
