Liddell-Jackson II Headlines UFC 71 Card
Leben vs. Starnes
May 24, 2007
Chris
Leben (Pictures) vs. Kalib Starnes (Pictures)
In a battle of TUF alumni, Chris Leben (Pictures) and Kalib Starnes (Pictures) will look to come back from uninspired performances that have left their status in the UFC very much up in the air. Leben in particular finds himself at a crossroads in his UFC career, having lost two of three, and enters this match knowing he can ill afford another loss.
If nothing else, Leben's UFC career thus far has been marked by the
same kind of drama that defined his time on TUF. A mildly
controversial split decision win over Canadian brawler Patrick Cote (Pictures) failed to impress his horde of
fans, but a surprising submission win over Edwin Dewees (Pictures) and an even more surprising first
round KO of Jorge Rivera
(Pictures) had Leben looking like a
potential championship contender.
That was until Leben ran into the human buzzsaw that is Anderson Silva and found himself in the unfamiliar position of being on the receiving end of a KO. It appeared as though Leben would regain his footing in the UFC after a KO victory over Jorge Santiago (Pictures), but a disappointing submission loss to Jason MacDonald (Pictures) has put Leben in the position of having to earn his spot in the UFC all over again.
Although Starnes did suffer a legitimate rib injury in the bout that caused him to verbally submit, questions began surfacing about his desire and willingness to fight through adversity, questions that continue to this day thanks to Starnes' loss at UFC 64 to Yushin Okami (Pictures). It seemed as if the second Okami laid hands on Starnes he sapped the young Canadian of any desire to actually fight. As the bout wore on, it became obvious Starnes was convincing himself that to even try and fight back would be pointless.
Against a fighter like the 26-year-old Leben, who thrives on crowding his opponents and bringing the fight to them, Starnes will need to overcome his own confidence issues more so than any stylistic problems.
In fact, Starnes (7-1-1) has the skills to give Leben serious pause considering his far superior ground game, a facet of the sport that Leben is still vulnerable in. Leben is not going to stand idly by and let Starnes, 32, work him over on the ground, and considering Starnes mediocre wrestling skills, he'll have a hard time trying to take Leben down while avoiding the middleweight's aggressive striking.
If, and we're talking about a big if here, Starnes comes into this bout motivated and confident, he could repeat what MacDonald did to Leben. However, Leben (16-3-0) has always shown a knack for rebounding from adversity and Starnes seems ready made for the Gresham, Ore. fighter.
While I doubt this will degenerate into a replay of the Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura "fight," don't count on the Canadian Starnes doing much other than absorbing a ton of punishment while desperately seeking a takedown. From there, it becomes a matter of time before Starnes begins doubting himself and Leben takes over.
This one could be interesting early, but the longer it goes, the more it favors Leben. So look for the Smasher of Cats to put this one away late in the second round via ground-and-pound.
In a battle of TUF alumni, Chris Leben (Pictures) and Kalib Starnes (Pictures) will look to come back from uninspired performances that have left their status in the UFC very much up in the air. Leben in particular finds himself at a crossroads in his UFC career, having lost two of three, and enters this match knowing he can ill afford another loss.
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That was until Leben ran into the human buzzsaw that is Anderson Silva and found himself in the unfamiliar position of being on the receiving end of a KO. It appeared as though Leben would regain his footing in the UFC after a KO victory over Jorge Santiago (Pictures), but a disappointing submission loss to Jason MacDonald (Pictures) has put Leben in the position of having to earn his spot in the UFC all over again.
While there is no question that Leben's desire to win is second to
none, his opponent, Kalib
Starnes (Pictures), appears to be the classic
example of top shelf talent and bottom drawer motivation.
Undeniably skilled, Starnes entered the third season of TUF as one
of the favorites to walk away with the contract, but eventual
winner Kendall Grove
(Pictures) derailed any hopes of that
happening by scoring a big upset win.
Although Starnes did suffer a legitimate rib injury in the bout that caused him to verbally submit, questions began surfacing about his desire and willingness to fight through adversity, questions that continue to this day thanks to Starnes' loss at UFC 64 to Yushin Okami (Pictures). It seemed as if the second Okami laid hands on Starnes he sapped the young Canadian of any desire to actually fight. As the bout wore on, it became obvious Starnes was convincing himself that to even try and fight back would be pointless.
Against a fighter like the 26-year-old Leben, who thrives on crowding his opponents and bringing the fight to them, Starnes will need to overcome his own confidence issues more so than any stylistic problems.
In fact, Starnes (7-1-1) has the skills to give Leben serious pause considering his far superior ground game, a facet of the sport that Leben is still vulnerable in. Leben is not going to stand idly by and let Starnes, 32, work him over on the ground, and considering Starnes mediocre wrestling skills, he'll have a hard time trying to take Leben down while avoiding the middleweight's aggressive striking.
If, and we're talking about a big if here, Starnes comes into this bout motivated and confident, he could repeat what MacDonald did to Leben. However, Leben (16-3-0) has always shown a knack for rebounding from adversity and Starnes seems ready made for the Gresham, Ore. fighter.
While I doubt this will degenerate into a replay of the Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura "fight," don't count on the Canadian Starnes doing much other than absorbing a ton of punishment while desperately seeking a takedown. From there, it becomes a matter of time before Starnes begins doubting himself and Leben takes over.
This one could be interesting early, but the longer it goes, the more it favors Leben. So look for the Smasher of Cats to put this one away late in the second round via ground-and-pound.
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