Chris Leben Breaks UFC Record By Fighting Twice In Only 14 Days

The world record for most grilled cheese sandwiches eaten in ten minuets is forty-seven. That’s a grilled cheese sandwich every twelve seconds for ten minutes straight. Chris Leben’s record of shortest layoff between UFC fights isn’t quite this impressive, but it’s still pretty good. He’ll step into the Octagon for the second time in just fourteen days. MMA FIghting broke it down from Leben’s interview with Fighters Only:

“The total is 14 days,” Leben told Fighters Only, via Zach Arnold. “It’s two Saturdays, so I fought one Saturday, I get one off, and now I’m fighting next Saturday. So it’s pretty crazy.”

Last year Anthony Johnson fought at both UFC 104 and UFC 106, which were only four weeks apart. But Leben is cutting Johnson’s layoff in half.

“It’s never happened in the UFC,” Leben said. “So, it’s pretty exciting, we’re making history.”

“I just got home from my fight,” Leben said. “I got home on Sunday, ate a large pizza, watched a movie with my girlfriend, passed out. I woke up and Joe Silva’s on my phone. So at first thing I was like, oh my body was hurting, I said, you know I don’t know if it’s a good idea, you know, da da da. A couple of minutes later, Dana called me back and they really wanted me to take the fight and actually after I woke up I started to think about it and I mean I’m a fighter, this is what I do. Right now is my time. I’m healthy, I’m not hurt. We only have a small window in this sport, so I’d be a fool not to capitalize on this opportunity.”

I’ve never been a huge fan of Leben, and I’ve delighted many a time watching his utter destruction at the hands of Anderson Silva a few years back, but he’s actually starting to win me over. He seems to get it now. He doesn’t have to be some obnoxious animal to be relevant. Seeing his maturation process since the Rosholt fight has been pretty refreshing, and to have the chutzpah to get back in there on such short notice can’t help but endear him to me. He looked great against Aaron Simpson, so as long as his cardio can handle it I think he stands a chance of pulling off the upset this Saturday against Akiyama.