Despite vacating the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship and several pending movie roles, it appears Cung Le will return to MMA much sooner than expected. According to sources close to the 12/19 SF event, Le will return next month and face Scott Smith.
_______________________________________ “Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us.” – Evan Tanner 1971-2008
"Be better than you think you can be. Don't quit two minutes before the miracle. Believe."-Charles "Mask" Lewis
Good, I hope Smith KO's him in R1! Always liked Smith, never liked Le.....kind of strange that he did that as soon as his belt gets taken away....what you all think....coincidence!?? NOT!!
At least we likely won't have a title fiasco again even if Le wins, SF was smart enough to also make Matt Lindland vs. Ronaldo Souza for the card with a shot maybe going to the winner.
_______________________________________ “Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us.” – Evan Tanner 1971-2008
"Be better than you think you can be. Don't quit two minutes before the miracle. Believe."-Charles "Mask" Lewis
Yeah, this is no coincidence. Le is a big draw but he only works (if I may borrow from baseball terminology) as a spot starter, not a 200 inning workhorse.
The reality is he's not going to be available to readily defend a title. However, he can still have high profile fights that people ill want to watch. He might not be the champ but he's still Cung Le.
Keep him matched up with strikers and let the cameras role. Highlights will soon follow.
I like Scott Smith a lot but I don't see him getting by Le. He's a tailor made opponent for Cung to come in and get a win over a guy willing to stand and bang, who also got some exposure fighting Lawler twice on CBS. Name recognition + favorable stylistic match up = Squeezing every penny out of Cung Le!
Scott Smith? really? this looks like blatant ducking from first glance. I cant say I'm surprised Le comes back a month after he releases the belt and not fight the #1 contender. I really hope Scott KO's Le and whatevers left of Le's hype, comeback kid style 3rd round KO.
title is misleading as le has confirmed he IS fighting on dec 19 and for all the posters who think he's ducking...easy now, he hasn't been training as a full time fighter and he did the honorable thing (cough overeem cough) by relinquishing the belt. i give the guy major props for showing up at all (cough rampage cough).
185 Hendo (maybe) mayhem miller Jacare Lawal Lindland(if he can hang) Cung Le Shamrock Radach and Smith( both entertaining as hell) Plus maybe Mousasi if he drops back to his original weight...
and for all the posters who think he's ducking...easy now, he hasn't been training as a full time fighter and he did the honorable thing (cough overeem cough) by relinquishing the belt. i give the guy major props for showing up at all (cough rampage cough).
But relinquishing the best supports the idea that he's ducking. He can fight hand picked opponents, rather than the number one contender. If he can jump back in the cage from time to time and beat up a tailor made opponent, it would work out much better for his acting career. Everyone knows that his stock would lower if he were to lose...and he is definitely aware of that. Take a look at the list above that CwB put together. It's a solid list of MW's that Strikeforce has put together. You notice something else? Most of those guys are bad style matchups for Cung. Cung will be fighting a pure striker instead. Coincidence? Just something to consider.
Last edited 11/7/09 10:21AM by grappler0000 Edit note/reason: n/a
_______________________________________ It's lose, not loose!
185 Hendo (maybe) mayhem miller Jacare Lawal Lindland(if he can hang) Cung Le Shamrock Radach and Smith( both entertaining as hell) Plus maybe Mousasi if he drops back to his original weight...
SF
There is a reason that Mousasi moved up and that reason is to not have to make 185 again.
Le is a fun fighter to watch but I think he is far from Strikeforce's best 185er. So I think its great that he is coming back but I think he is being way over rated by some.
SF
