THE CRIPPLER

Christian Cyrus Leben is officially retired from MMA.

Tim Kennedy, Patrick Cote, Michael Chiesa, Evan Dunham, John Maguire, Joey Beltran all expressed they emotions on Twitter about Leben leaving the sport after his loss compiling a record of 12-10 in 22 appearances for the UFC organization as one of the most feared fighter in the Middleweight division. He ran into a four fight loosing streak, but he was kept around for a reason. Leben was in the original cast member in THE Ultimate fighter series with all the names that "made" the UFC explode into the superb phenomenon that it is today.

Chris was/is one of the favorite for many, including my wife who watched him being a sensitive young kid into a not so much technical fighter, rather one of the most feared one, the relentless one who never stops coming forward. We all remember Joe Rogan's comment on the big head/great punch taking abilities theory that some of you might find insulting, but more so this might be just one of the main key for his amazing fights. Chis was more dangerous while hurt towards to the end of the round.

He fought Anderson Silva pretty early on and he KO-d the other Silva: Wanderlei among many others, TUF, and many other accomplishments on his records. The Guy has nothing to prove. If I have to put only one world to describe him it should be relentless.

Thank You so much Chris, and I really hope that we will see you back as a coach or trainer, even hall-of-famer if that whole TUF crew is going there one day. I loved witnessing your journey, listening your stories (from you and from others). Your heart kept you in our heart. You made a lot of us a fan of MMA, TUF and the UFC.

The WAR PAINT, nails, hair, the style. All gone. Amazing inspiration.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

Received 1000 tweets from you guys!! Overwhelming - Chris Leben. - See more at: http://www.bjpenn.com/the-mma-world-reacts-to-the-retirement-of-chris-leben/#sthash.ypWnv5RU.dpuf 

Thank you so much for mmaweekly and fighthubtv for the photos.

Happy New Year (fighters to watch) 1.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This post had no research behind it at all. Only, I think this is not something you can really research, it's   a lot more like based on your 'gut feeling thing.
Yes, I'm talking about the fighters/things to watch in 2014. What I think this really cover is what impressed you/me the most in 2013, what moved my imagination, who do you see more than probably to succeed, who looked promising and impressive...rememberable - is not a bad world for it either.
So here is my list.

The Number one person that can potentially reach the sky and win even more people over to his side this year is, yes it's a male Featherweight fighter named Conor McGregor straight outta Ireland. The mainly striker fighter is the owner of 10 first round finishes and is on a 10 fight winning streak.
This 'GQ fly cat' sounds like a guy don't know how to pull back with the confidence, he just can not silence the voice inside his head: nobody can fuck with me ~ In all honesty: I actually think it's discipline more than anything. You just can not be this loose with those kicks of his and not to work insanely hard. That takes dedication. I say to be that loose physically in the Octagon, takes hardcore intensity in the mind and in the gym. I believe it needs balance, I think the two comes together. Ideally we all do:)
How about his fighting, besides being very entertaining?
Fast, flashy, precise, stylish, for me seems like ton of karate,, ton of kicks, great boxing, great on the ground, amazing footwork. All this with the the menace borrowed from the Stockton and Co. aka the Diaz brothers. Talking to the opponent, never a big issue either.
Other fascinating thing about him: close friend and training parter with Gunnar Nelson.
Which takes me to the second guy on the list. The number 2 guy to watch in 2014 is Gunni, who is from Iceland, therefore cool as fuck to begin with. I'm sorry, how many Icelandic, more authentic guy you know who is also an amazing fighter. Both guys are unorthodox, Gunner - a dangerous Welterweight - probably even more so. I would consider him a ground fighter - I am considering him:) . Not sure, if I can pull a parallel between his demeanor and approach to fighting, but he is WAY too calm, and as far as what I got out of his fighting style: Unique, powerful, loves the ground fight,  and minimal - meaning he does what it needs to be done not less, not more. I say both guys are easily top 10 or will be this year for sure. Both are 25 years old, both takes risks, loves to fight and very good at them. Another reason, I have never heard of them before last year, but as the year progresses, we all learned their name and all I was hearing is the mentions of their name among others, but these too just stood out for me.


Fighters to watch in 2014:
Conor McGregor  (25yr, 14 - 2) Featherweight
Gunnar Nelson (25yr, 10 - 0 - 1) Welterweight
Also need to mention this guy, who I think might have stole the show in 2013 is Alexander Gustafsson (26yr, 15 - 2 - 0) LightHeavyweight. He deserves his own separate article dedicated only to him. Now I know what am I going to do, later tonight/this week.
Nite!

-G. Molnar

Conor 

Gunni 

Welcome to my blog

Thanks for checking my blog MMASEC out. My name is Gabe Molnar, I run a small t-shirt company called 1AEON, Have a band called Whale, and besides other things I love fighting and competition so much that I have to write about it. I became a fascinated fan a few years ago and the love affair birthed into a magical relationship by now.
I write about MMA, mainly UFC related stuff from my own perspective, this is my two cents.
If you don't like it, don't read it.

ps.: I figured that there is the dominant 'MMA hour' show, so I tried to placed myself and my blog to a level so low by naming it the MMA second, when it's not insulting, yet you'll get the idea. Thank you so much for the love and support!
Gabe Molnar