"I started changing my style after the Anderson Silva fight when it became pretty obvious that I couldn't go out all guns blazing and expect to beat elite fighters. I needed to pick my shots better and have a more adaptable game. My coach Burt Richardson has really helped with this - he's got me to mix up my striking with more technical brawling and my ground game, which despite what some people think has always been pretty good. It took me a while to get a handle on these changes - I lost a couple of fights after Silva, but it's really paying off now, I feel as if I'm a more technical fighter and can respond quicker and more intelligently than before."
-- Surging middleweight Chris Leben tells MensFitness.co.uk that he's not just the brawler that so many perceive him as -- he's also a very technical and intelligent martial artist. He attributes that largely to his near-death experience against 185-pound Champion Anderson Silva nearly four years ago. He's gone 6-4 since then but has won his last three and has even been in the discussion as a potential coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Wanderlei Silva has been calling for a fight against Leben but "The Crippler" has a date with Brian Stann at UFC 125: "Resolution" on Jan. 1 in Las Vegas. In the midst of this mini-career revival, how far do you see the TUF season one contestant making it in the crowded middleweight division?
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