UFC fans were excited to see that a legend of the octagon will be involved in a world title fight tonight in Inglewood.
Former WEC champion Chris Leben was one of the most renowned fighters in middleweight history, fighting into his 40s while entertaining fans. He most famously fought Anderson Silva and knocked out Wanderlei Silva in a star-studded career.
However, he has now taken on a new role in the sport as a judge, and will score the co-main event of UFC 311. He has been assigned the clash, in which Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title for the first time. against Umar Nurmagomedov.
Chris Leben gets the job for UFC 311
Former middleweight Leben has been working as a judge for the past three years since hanging up his own gloves after a big KO win in his last BKFC fight. He has competed in UFC and PFL fights, but got his first major title fight this week when the assignments were made.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The California State Athletic Commission has given him a total of three fights on tonight's big card, with one each on the early prelims, ESPN prelims and the main card. He scored 30-27 for Muin Gafurov in her win over Rinya Nakamura and has two more.
He will decide fast-rising star Payton Talbott's clash with Raoni Barcelos in the prelim main event before taking on his first UFC title fight.
Fans react as Chris Leben is spotted in the cage for UFC 311
MMA fans seemed excited to see Leben as he arrived in the cage for his first assignment of the night. MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn shared a photo of the legendary fighter, with many followers showing their excitement to see him get a big fight.
“Great to see,” one fan wrote. Finally judges who know 100 percent what they are seeing/doing.” Another then added, “Having seen him again on TUF 1 and knowing the problems he's been in, it's so great to see Chris where he is today.”
Another noted that his fighting experience will make him an excellent coach, adding: “He has trained, fought professionally, trained other fighters, taken the referee course and then refereed professional matches.
“He has gone through the judging course and judged professional competitions – he is infinitely more qualified than anyone sitting to his left or right will be.”
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