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UFC Vet Chris Leben To Serve As Judge For UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot

Originally posted on MMA News | By Curtis Calhoun | Last updated 9/22/23

UFC pioneer Chris Leben will be in attendance at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event in an official capacity.

Leben, who has worked as an MMA judge under the California State Athletic Commission, will make his Nevada debut this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot. ESPN's Marc Raimondi was the first to report the news of Leben's Nevada MMA judging debut.

The specific fights that Leben will serve as a judge, as well as how many, are uncertain at this time. Leben's addition to a UFC judging panel coincidentally comes just days after one of the biggest judging controversies of 2023.

Leben was a key member of The Ultimate Fighter: Season 1 early on in his professional fighting career. He went on to have a modest UFC run; featuring wins over Patrick Côté and Jorge Rivera.

Chris Leben Makes UFC Return As A Judge

UFC veteran Chris Leben will be making his debut as a judge in Nevada this weekend on the UFC Fight Night card, per sources. Leben, a pro MMA fighter from 2002 to 2013, has been a judge and referee in California for years.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) September 22, 2023

The 43-year-old Leben retired from fighting following a bare-knuckle loss to Quentin Henry at BKFC KnuckleMania. He earned a 3-1 record in bare-knuckle boxing after his UFC release in 2013.

UFC President Dana White harshly criticized judge Mike Bell's 10-8 fifth-round scorecard in the Noche UFC main event. Judging has been a hot topic in MMA in recent years after a flurry of head-scratching official decisions at UFC events.

Saturday's UFC Fight Night event is headlined by a lightweight matchup between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

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