Chris Leben is fighting again soon.
The hard-hitting brawler also known as “The Crippler†will square off against fellow middleweight Karlos Vemola at UFC 155, which takes place Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, NV.
UFC Australia confirmed the news today via Twitter.
#UFC155: 'The Crippler' to take on @UFC_UK's Karlos Vermola. Vemola has finished his opponents in all nine of his wins.
Leben (22-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC) returns to the cage for the first time since losing via TKO to Mark Munoz at UFC 138 last November. After the fight it was revealed that Leben tested positive for banned substances, and the UFC suspended him for one year. However, during his time away from the cage he has worked hard to clean himself up and says he is sober now. The veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter: Season 1″ is known for his extreme power and iron chin, and holds stoppage wins over Wanderlei Silva, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Mike Swick in his career. He hopes for another against Vemola.
Vemola (9-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will fight at 185 pounds for the third time in his career, having gone 1-1 since making the drop down earlier this year.
The former Czech national wrestling champion, who sports an impressive physique, has fought at heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight in his UFC career but has never put together a solid win streak. He hopes that starts against Leben on December 29.
UFC 155 is headlined the a UFC heavyweight title clash between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez and also features a middleweight bout with Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman.
