UFC 125: Brian Stann Stops ‘The Crippler,’ TKOs Chris Leben In the First

Brian Stann and Chris Leben at UFC 125

Brian Stann proved he can beat a tough opponent by stopping a seasoned Chris Leben in the first round at UFC 125. “The All-American” showed some pretty sharp stand-up technique, as he handed Leben the TKO loss.

Stann was able to calculate his distance perfectly and utilized clean combinations while on the feet. Mid-way through the first round, Stann threw a right body kick and followed it up with a left then right hand. A short scramble later, Stann landed a nice right hand that sent Leben crashing to the canvas.

Leben was able to get back up and clinch with Stann against the cage. From there, Stann overwhelmed “The Crippler,” dropping his opponent two more times, with the third and final shot being a clean knee by Stann. Leben covered up and couldn’t defend himself any longer, prompting referee Josh Rosenthal to step in an stop the fight at 3:37 of the very first round, giving Stann the TKO victory.

Stann, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, impressively collected his second middleweight win in a row after dropping a unanimous decision to Phil Davis at light heavyweight. The weight cut seemed to be the right way to go for Stann, as he looked obviously bigger and stronger than Leben from the get go.

Leben, a veteran of 33 professional fights, can typically take a few punches in any given fight, but Saturday night, he took too many. Prior to the UFC 125 bout with Stann, he made it clear when he said, “My fights are generally exciting.” Well, the MGM crowd definitely got excited when they saw “The Crippler” take the punishment from Stann’s combinations.

As a result of UFC 125’s festivities, Brian Stann improves his record to 10-3, while Chis Leben drops to 25-7.