Chris Leben Relishes Role as the Evil Villain

There's no denying that Chris Leben will be the one stepping into the lion's cage when he faces Michael Bisping at UFC 89 on Saturday night... and that's fine by him.

Bisping is far and away the biggest mixed martial arts star in England and the crowd will be whole-heartedly behind him when he and Leben enter the Octagon.

Leben addressed the crowd situation in a recent UFC conference call promoting the fight:

"Michael's a star over here and it's an honor to fight him over here. I wouldn't want it any other way. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I like being the bad guy. I really do.

There's nothing cooler than... he can make thousands of people scream, that's cool, but when, come the 18th, when I make 'em all go dead still and quiet, that's going to be something real special."

Of course, Bisping couldn't let that lie, and you could hear the Cheshire grin on his face through the phone line when he responded, "Well, just don't count on that experience."