Chris Leben was born July 21st, 1980 and raised in Portland Oregon as a middle child with a younger sister and an older brother. Growing up he always preferred alternative sports such as skateboarding, dirt biking, and snowboarding. It wasn't until middle school that Chris watched his first Ultimate Fighting Championship and decided to dive head first into the arena of combat sports.

Chris had never been in a street fight but he was instantly fascinated by the sport and decided to take up boxing classes. The classes were far across town from where he lived but regardless of the distance he enrolled anyway and took the bus there everyday after school. He never competed as a boxer but enjoyed training hard and studying the techniques each and everyday.

Late in his freshman year Chris joined the high school wrestling team. He picked up the art rather quickly and wrestled into his Junior and Senior year. Wrestling helped Chris develop ground skills which he could not receive in boxing. These skills combined with his boxing training helped Chris form a base and skill set that would be the starting point of his fighting career.

One day while visiting his brother at work, Chris noticed an MMA gym located across the street. The particular gym happened to be the location of the world famous Team Quest. After a brief conversation with team trainer Robert Follis Chris was ready to take his fighting training to another level and joined. He signed on and before long he was training with the competition team members like Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Nate Quarry, and Ed Herman. With such a great team around him Chris refined his skills and began fighting as an amateur. His amateur career started just how it ended, with a win. He went 5-0 as an amateur and captured the FCFF and UFCF middleweight titles.

Undefeated as an amateur Chris decided to test the waters and turn pro. He wasted no time and won his first five fights, three of which came via knockout. Chris went on a rampage and captured the Gladiator Challenge, Sportfight, and WEC middleweight titles. He has amassed truly impressive professional record and has beaten names such as Benji Radach, Mike Swick, Jorge Rivera, Edwin Dewees, Patrick Cote, Terry Martin, and Alessio Sakara.

Chris was a featured contestant on the first Spike reality series, The Ultimate Fighter where he showed the world all sides of his personality and became a fan favorite. Chris did not win The Ultimate Fighter competition but went on to fight in The Ultimate Fighter finals where he quickly dismantled his opponent Jason Thacker with vicious offense. Chris is still competing in the UFC and is a top ranked middleweight contender.

Currently Chris is living in Honolulu, Hawaii where he spends his days running the Icon Fitness and MMA Center.