Cung Le: Smith is a Better Fight For Me
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 8, 2009 4:53 PM EST
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Strikeforce Cung Le.mov (via HeavyMMA)
Cung Le is thrilled to be back in the fight game. Le is a true martial artist. The martial part happens in the cage, where Le is an undefeated mixed martial artists and a legend in san shou. The artistry happens in film, where Le has soared to stardom, at least martial arts action stardom. I caught up with Le at the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers card to ask about his return to MMA, why he thinks Scott Smith is a better fight than Jake Shields, the awkward battle between Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck, how he will do on short notice December 19th, and his thriving movie career.
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Man, I love Cung Le.
He is the kind of dude I like watching fight and I’m glad we’ll get to see him fight again soon.
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Scott Smith vs Cung Le
I would loveto see them trade. Thatd be a good few rounds. Jake would just Jake.haha
That would be a brutal one-sided ass kicking.
Scott Smith has a ton of heart and KO power, but that is it. He’s a sloppy brawler who relies on his chin to keep him alive long enough to land a haymaker. He’s nothing more than a clean cut version of Chris Leben (although Leben has a better ground game).
Cung would toy with him like he was a child.
He was very friendly and engaging, although a bit more careful on camera than off. ;) But he is really looking forward to putting on a show, as much as fighting….
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 8, 2009 5:00 PM EST reply actions
Why do you say that? Just curious. The guy’s standup is fascinating to watch.
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 8, 2009 5:19 PM EST up reply actions
Because he doesn’t want to be a fighter anymore. That’s cool, if you want to act more power to you, but you can’t be a fighter one month out of the year and an actor the other eleven. Not to mention all the time that is wasted talking about the guy like he’s the best fighter on earth when in reality he’d get killed by half the welterweights in the UFC.
by ufc4 on Nov 8, 2009 6:01 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I disagree
the guy can fight if he wants to, and he can act if he wants to as well. Him and Coker have a very close relationship, and to be honest he relinquished the title so it’s not like he’s clogging up the division in any way. Cung’s an exciting fighter, and a guy like him who’s career in combat sports is winding down and is halfway decent looking, then what’s wrong with him acting?
I enjoy his fights. He’s just not at a point in his life where he wants to be a champ, and that’s completely fine.
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'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Nov 8, 2009 6:10 PM EST up reply actions
I just don’t think it’s a smart idea, being a fighter at that level isn’t the type of thing you wanna do half-assed.
by ufc4 on Nov 8, 2009 6:51 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think we can start worrying about that when it…becomes an issue. If he isn’t clogging up the division and is a solid local draw for the promotion….AND isn’t losing. I don’t really think there is much of a reason to tell him to go away.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 9, 2009 11:04 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t think there is any danger of Coker telling the guy that can pack 15000 fans in the building to go away. He’s an interesting fighter, and he’s getting better it seems. His competition has been building, from openign match guys to journeyman, to older legends, to midlevel bangers. Seems about right. Beat Smith, then think about a Robbie Lawler…
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 9, 2009 11:47 AM EST up reply actions
Start worrying about fighters getting hurt after someone gets hurt? Doesn’t seem like it should work that way. And of course he isn’t losing- he never fights.
He's undefeated in a long career of combat sports.
I don’t think you need to be worrying about him getting injured when he has shown no signs of injury beyond what is par for the course in MMA.
Sure, against the Tony Fryklund and Sam Morgan types of the world.
As ufc4 said, the guy’s a welterweight fighting ’tards at middleweight. When you starts fighting relevant fighters, we can talk.
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And that’s when he actually fights, which obviously doesn’t happen much.
by ufc4 on Nov 8, 2009 6:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think those were appropriate fighters for his level of experience and development. Nothing wrong with those fights to me. Brock Lesnar has really skewed perceptions. It would be unusual if someone with Le’s experience didn’t fight guys like that, solid journeyman, on their way up the ladder.
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 9, 2009 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
Don't forget...
To add the fact that Shamrock tried to fight Cung Le’s game.
Honestly, I think Cung is a bit scared to try to fight Shields and be exposed on national television. He knows his movie career is going well, and a loss isn’t something that sells you.
If Shields puts Cung to the floor even once, it’s going to be a positional battle. Cung will have the same problems against Souza, and I wouldn’t mind seeing someone like Whitemare tee off on Cung either. Cung isn’t all he’s cracked up to be. He has yet to be tested on the ground.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Nov 10, 2009 10:29 AM EST up reply actions
I would rather watch Cung fight Diaz.
Keep firing Assholes!
I am the King of Rome, and am above grammar. -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
That would be tremendous. Diaz’s name was not greated with smiles by Strikeforce or CBS/Showtime people…
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 8, 2009 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
So why don’t they just release him like he wants?
by ufc4 on Nov 8, 2009 6:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
That’s a good question. I had 10 questions with Scott Coker and didn’t ask it. Need you on my text messages…
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 8, 2009 6:06 PM EST up reply actions
For sure the TV people are/want to.
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 9, 2009 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
I think that is the key.
The TV guys want no part of Diaz, but like all good promoters, Coker is a fanboy at heart. He loves watching Nick fight and doesn’t want to lose a guy with his kind of talent. Dana White is the same way. You can see his eyes light up anytime someone mentions the possibility of bringing back Nick Diaz. He knows Nick is a pain in the ass, but he’d take him back in a heartbeat if Nick would agree to where the UFC has him slotted in the pay scale.
Meanwhile, the TV execs at CBS/Showtime are not MMA fans. They just see it as a programming vehicle. They don’t care how good a guy is if he doesn’t help move their vehicle forward.
Diaz does have some name value and has headlined their Shamrock vs Diaz card. Of course, Diaz is a big headache to Strikeforce as well. If Diaz gets released, I wonder if the UFC will take Diaz?
Diaz
He is a beast. A brilliant boxer who is a black belt also. Just a phenom. I love his mentality also. He is a “Fuck You” type of guy.
He is a "Fuck You" type of guy.
gee, i wonder how you found that out. ;)
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 10, 2009 4:01 AM EST up reply actions
Dana loves Diaz and has, on many occasions, said he would love to have him back in the UFC. The only thing that would hold up a deal with the UFC is that they view Nick as a mid-carder and Nick has spent the last couple years as a main event fighter. If they could come to financial terms, Zuffa would re-sign Nick in a heartbeat.
Diaz is a payscale problem for them. When a fighter loses so often, it is difficult to justify to guys why someone they beat is paid substantially more. Keeping the roster happy is the main reason Diaz was cut…
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 9, 2009 1:49 PM EST up reply actions
Body shot = instant win for Le. Smith can’t take a punch to the ribs, never has been able to. Off the top of my head, his fights with Sell, Diaz, and Lawler (the 2nd one) all ended (or came close) because of body shots.
I wouldn't say that
it’s just that he really does leave his body wide open, and when you do that… you’re gonna get drilled. Le is very good at bodywork, so I wouldn’t doubt at all that he’ll take advantage of that with some cool kicks.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Nov 10, 2009 1:17 AM EST up reply actions
It’s still a dangerous fight for Le. Smith has a solid chin, and has good power punching.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Nov 10, 2009 10:30 AM EST up reply actions
Lee vs. Smith
ZOMG!!! What a joke. Tomatoe can foe Lee how preditable. I can’t blame Lee for wanting to fight someone like Smith for his first fight in a LONG time. I am having flashbacks of Smith vs. Diaz.
for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.
This reminds me of Lawler...
or Lawler’s agent saying they’re not interested in a fight with Jacare. Ground guy…oh no…I don’t like that one.
Shields may be right after all…Cung doesn’t want to fight him.
by The Real T-Bone on Nov 10, 2009 1:00 PM EST reply actions
Cung doesn’t want to fight him…he explains why in the video.
by Jonathan Snowden on Nov 10, 2009 1:58 PM EST up reply actions
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