With Cung Le Relinquishing Belt, Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs Jake Shields Will Be for Middleweight Belt
by Kid Nate on Sep 17, 2009 10:43 PM EDT
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From MMA Weekly:
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker Thursday confirmed to MMAWeekly that his middleweight champion, Cung Le, has booked another major motion picture role and will relinquish his belt.
Jake Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller will now vie for the undisputed title under the eye of CBS when the two meet at the promotion's network debut Nov. 7...
"I had a conversation with Cung and he has a lot of respect for Jake and Jason, and he’s got another movie coming up, so he’s asked me if he could step down, which we’re going to honor his request," said Coker. "By no means does that mean he’s going to be retired, but he’s going to be unavailable for the next two months."
Coker said he hoped to book the newly minted movie star again after his filming obligations completed, though nothing was confirmed.
"With Cung, every six weeks we’ll be checking back with him," he continued. "Now that he’s not going to be our title holder, we’ll put him in some big super fights and continue his MMA career, but not have the pressure of defending his belt when he has movie opportunities."
And Jason "Mayhem" Miller confirms the fight via Twitter (HT MMA Mania):
"Ok bitches who said I was ducking — I duck NO ONE. Fighting Sheilds on November 7th. Official BOOM!
As much as Jake Shields is not a draw, Mayhem Miller makes this a compelling fight for the casual fan due to his persona and his exposure on MTV's Bully Beatdown.
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is this a joke?
Shields has like the worst stand up game in MMA. His ground game is out of control though.
"Relinquished"?
As opposed to “stripped”? So nice of him to return it since he was done playing with it…
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Sep 17, 2009 10:46 PM EDT reply actions
Did he actually defend the title?
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Sep 18, 2009 7:45 AM EDT up reply actions
anyone know cung’s contract status? any chance he jumps ship to the ufc if he ever decides to fight again?
i have no contract info, but from the tone of how strikeforce and cung le publicly deal with each other, it sounds like they are happy with each other
Yes, I’m sure SF has been completely happy with Le not fighting for them in ages.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Sep 17, 2009 11:42 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Disappointed in Cung
When he burst onto the scene, I was psyched. Here appeared to be a striker who could keep it standing and pretty much had the best looking striking in MMA – whether it would be as effective as Lyoto Machida, Anderson Sivla, etc – would be a matter for them to settle – hopefully? But now, he’s gone Hollywood.
Did Frank Shamrock make him think twice about fighting? Because I know Frank hit him a few times good – never mind the fact that he should have taken him down into his world, but whatever.
I’m not Cung and I’m not a fighter, but I’ve gotta agree with Dana here – fighter-slash-actor is bullshit. And the ultimate load of BS to come out of Cung Le is the fact that he says “Fighting will always be there, but I gotta do this acting thing while I’m still young.” Um. Wow. So, he can just come back when he’s 50? And acting… yeah, there aren’t any old actors? I get it, he wants to be an action star, ala Jet Li & shit, but look at Jackie Chan – age didn’t really seem to affect him in movies as much as it would in a serious fighting sport.
But obviously Cung has rationalized it for himself with ass-backwards logic, so, let him stay in La-La Land forever as far as I am concerned.
by LeonDaLion on Sep 17, 2009 10:52 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
lol
Making movies is much easier and more lucrative than fighting. Cung’s been fighting for more than a decade (only MMA the last few years) and he’s earned the right to do whatever he wants.
You, of course, have the right to be disappointed as a fan of his fighting. I’m in the same boat, Cung Le so far is a unique stylist in MMA history and really made kung fu effective in the cage in a way no one else has.
He won’t be the last IMO. San shou’s emphasis on takedowns and throws means they have to have a solid wrestling base which allows them to use their amazing striking in an MMA context.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Folayang!
he’s like an unpolished version of him. :)
by Anton Tabuena on Sep 18, 2009 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions
Who’s an unpolished version of whom?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Sep 18, 2009 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Folayang is like an unpolished, 155lb version of Cung Le..
by Anton Tabuena on Sep 18, 2009 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Plus the fact that the Chinese government is behind San Shou/Sanda and the single mindedness they displayed in the recent Olympics makes me wonder how much of an impact Chinese MMA fighters will have on the landscape when they get full on into it.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
You're all over-valuing Cung tremendously
Frank Shamrock was going to finish him standing to make a point. I mean sure, his arm didn’t break by accident, Cung did that, but if it wasn’t for the break Shamrock was absolutely and without a doubt on the verge of putting him down with strikes.
And this says nothing about what could have happened on the ground.
If Cung is relinquishing the belt, it’s because losing doesn’t help his acting career, and because he hasn’t fought anyone at the level of Miller / Shields before. I don’t care who he beat in kickboxing, or for how many years, he_would_not_win against a top-flight MMA fighter, period.
This is a classic example of people giving non-UFC fighters way too much credit in other promotions. He’s like a top-30 middleweight at best.
woah hey, cung seems to be handling things pretty well. as opposed to some other fighters, it seems he’s got real opportunities in acting, and he’s been fighting for a loooong time (though MMA only recently). nor did he back out of any fights, like the questionable rampage situation.
cung’s cool in my book.
Translation to English from Cung Le fan-boy-speak
“When he burst onto the scene, I was psyched. Here appeared to be a striker who could keep it standing and pretty much had the best looking striking in MMA”
“I am as high as a kite.”
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
as of August 4th 2008 when this video was posted on you tube Cungs contract was 4 fights or 2 years with strike force.
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=81ChOOhTwFA&feature=player_embedded#t=66
I thnk there's a strong chance
that Cung Le is going to jump to the UFC for a mega deal as soon as that time limit expires. Maybe that’s wishful thinking.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Doesn't the UFC have enough 37-year-olds?
Are they considering a senior league? And why would they want someone basically unproven?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
Cung Le, you deserve this
Miguel Torres- "I'm gonna give him a taste of the East Chicago Waterfall."
Rashad Evans- "That sounds disgusting."
by Damon O. on Sep 17, 2009 11:02 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
fail
you didn’t account for the bandwidth it takes to post stuff to BE
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Damn the interwebs
Miguel Torres- "I'm gonna give him a taste of the East Chicago Waterfall."
Rashad Evans- "That sounds disgusting."
Harsh!
No one deserves their Bandwidth to be Exceeded. No one!
=)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Sep 18, 2009 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
check this out what Cung said on his face book page on sept 12th Wow he really might be going to the UFC real soon from this quote below the link to his facew book is also below.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cung-Le/12802366953?v=wall
“Cung Le- Sup guys, sorry that I haven’t had the time to fight or defend my title. I’ve been busy trying to get my acting career on the road. But I haven’t been lazy, still been training hard! You’ll be seeing me soon and who knows maybe UFC with Dana White”.September 12 at 7:02pm
I got a feeling Kid Nate might just be 100% right from those words on his face book page ? We just might be seeing Dana announcing the Signing of Cung Le very very soon. Its kind of weard he says that on his face book and today gives up his title it all has thr makings of him waiting out the few months on his contract to go to the UFC ?
If you read the info on the front page, thats a fan page, not Cung Le’s.
=)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Sep 18, 2009 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
its also on sherdog about that face book page. If thats a fake its one of the best out there,
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f2/cung-le-no-plans-ufc-until-strikeforce-contract-up-1050544/
- This is not Cung Le, this is a fan page -
by MMASuPreMaCy on Sep 18, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
“As much as Jake Shields is not a draw, Mayhem Miller makes this a compelling fight for the casual fan due to his persona and his exposure on MTV’s Bully Beatdown.”
I know you speak the truth but I really hate that show… I can’t figure out if it’s Mayhem or the show by itself…
I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
--------
Join the DC Area UFC Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/DCUFCGroup
by funnytiger on Sep 17, 2009 11:29 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
never watched it myself
looks stupid.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Kid Nate on Sep 17, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It is stupid – its so dam stupid. Its a combination on bolth Mayhem and the show but mostly Mayhem. He just over does it so much on the show.
Both Mayhem AND the show suck.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Sep 18, 2009 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions
i know it's something to be expected
but i always laugh when i see the word undisputed in situations like this
im never going to support this guys acting career. im now going to know cung le as the guy who had a couple fights went undefeated against a diluted caliber list of opponents and gave up.. i dont care to even see cung le when he returns to mma. i dont want to say he’s dead to me but really i never care to hear this guys name again
btw. i would be very surprised to see jake submit jason miller. i was not on the other hand surprised when shields sunk that guillotine on lawler and think this is an easy decision win for jason miller if he really works on that submission defense and doesnt completely abandon that striking game
A couple of fights? You do know he is 37 years old and has a very long history as a martial arts/kickboxing champion right? He has been in the fight game for more than a decade and has been successful in other sports besides MMA, if the guy wants to do something else he has more than earned the right to. It’s fine to be upset about him not fighting MMA currently but lets not act like he hasn’t paid his dues in the fight world because he made his mark long before he even tried MMA.
oh now i see this is a trend in ur posts. either your a teacher or you like to reach out cause “you do know”.. there are other people out there who dont care to hear senseless knowledge they could find in google lol .btw i am a grade school teacher and dont even care to say “you do know”… that much. even if people seem to sound uneducated and not know something, its funny how it makes people look when go out there way educate some one who never asked to be in the first place.
Actually I just thought you were trolling with your post, that’s why I wrote my response to be overly sarcastic. You being someone who is responsible for educating children yet didn’t take the30 seconds on google to educate yourself before running your mouth makes me feel quite sad for you. I talk about MMA on this site for my own personal entertainment and education not yours.
theres not many ways someone could get the impression i was “trolling” but ok. i already know everything about cung’s fighting career and randy, thats one reason i didnt take 30 seconds to google something so senseless. realize that there is no argument here. cung is actually younger than randy and randy has actually been competing is wrestling and boxing since way back when. if cung hypothetically started doing “fighting” when he was 10 randy would be like 20 years old and have had already started competing in martial arts (wrestling) for a number of years. either way randy would murder le if they fought cung has some very over rater stand up. you were wrong about cung’s future intentions. why the hell did he hold the belt for so long if he has been intending to “go hollywood” since he won the belt. why didnt he let it go a long time ago instead of leading fans on? i hope im wrong about cung but i doubt he’s anything in mma to be worked up about
Those poor, poor kids.
Their teacher can’t even type intelligently. No punctuation, no capitalization. You sir, should be ashamed.
by Screwface on Sep 18, 2009 2:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
grammar’s a main part of my profession… if not caring at all to put that into my entertainment on an internet forum than slap me silly and call me sally cause i could care less. after reading little shits writing day and night weekend after weekend correcting punctuation, grammar, spelling etc etc. not even mentioning graduating school with a solid english background. maybe i would care more if i thought that stuff actually measured intelligence.
Randy didn’t start professional fighting(you know for money) until 1997, Cung Le started fighting professionally in 1998. Yes I know that Randy is older heck in athletic terms Randy is positively elderly and Cung Le is getting close to the end too for that matter. Any point about them fighting each other is utterly irrelevant and just plain silly, the fact is that Cung Le has already had a full long fighting career and was never really doing MMA full time anyway.
Heck he is a guy who lives in San Jose whose only MMA fights were for a San Jose based company and they all occured in San Jose. Le was already making movies before he even started MMA and all his fights were local for him, makes it pretty obvious where his focus was. That doesn’t mean he’s not a true champion or that he is in any way lacking as an athlete or that he is a quitter it just means that MMA was never his focus to start with. Hell the guy hasn’t fought in a year and a half, not sure why people are getting worked up at all, no reason to insult the guy he is just obviously more interested in other things.
“fighting will always be there, but i gotta do this acting thing while im still young”… this makes no sense to me. i think honestly the sentence would make more sense if it was “acting will always be there, but i gotta do this fighting thing while im still young”.. something randy who is a real champion has been saying for a while now
Randy is a champion? Coulda swore he lost his last two fights….
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Sep 17, 2009 11:53 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You do know that Cung Le has been a professional fighter as long as Randy Couture has right? Just because he was new to MMA doesn’t mean he was new to the fighting world or wasn’t a real champion (at multiple sports).
o geeze thanks o so much for the 411 dude. to think what i would do with out it! and actually just because cung was a champ in “multiple sports” doesnt mean that he is any where near as accomplished as randy in “the mma world”. now that i think about it there is another champion in multiple sports (sambo), etc.. that is getting flack for not competing at the level which he obtains potential for.. jeeze and the guy is still fighting imagine the fedor shit talkers every where blasting off if fedor turned down mma for acting instead of just the ufc for strikeforce.
Well to be fair to Fedor his last two fights were at that very high level (and he made a movie in the last year or so too). Still he also is pushing to be a MMA fighter where as Cung Le has never mislead at all about his intentions, he’s always been up front about the fact that he’s wanting to go to Hollywood not full time mma.
For someone who seems to be so educated about the sport, he doesn’t act like it.
PS: Don’t feed the troll, bro!
by Screwface on Sep 18, 2009 3:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I posted a fanshot a while back with Cung Le stating his next fight might be in the UFC…..,..
by SouthAlaBamaRampage on Sep 18, 2009 12:04 AM EDT reply actions
Is it the fake fan page one that everyone is referencing?
=)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Sep 18, 2009 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Finally!
At least Cung Le finally made a commitment one way or the other. I’d have wished he’d do MMA instead of acting, but whatever. We can now move on. I’m pretty excited for this fight. I think Miller will be a handful for Shields.
I love me some Sexyama!
So we have 2 guys who should be fighting at WW fighting for a belt Cung wasn’t even bothered to defend? great.
Mayhem is a true middleweight
his bout against GSP in the UFC was at way too low a weight for him. He was a wizened stick figure.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Woah settle down there, cow…err, chrisboy. You’re not suggesting that Strikeforce might have matchups and fights already for the future are you? Kinda like UFC? They are a small time promotion you know…
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Sep 18, 2009 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Strikeforce won’t be holding a show for at least 3 months after this, they won’t have any decent fighters left.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
Ok, 3 months from Nov 7. Let’s mark it and see. Let’s make a sig bet, or actually just keep the one you have now. ;P
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Sep 18, 2009 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions
I was being facetious but I think you see my point, if they were to hold another show before 2010 who would be in it? It would be a pretty weak card.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
Well, without going with a DREAM co-promotion (so no Aoki-Melendez or Manhoef-Lawler) they could line up:
Jacare vs Lindland
Lawler vs Santiago
Arlovski vs Werdum
Melendez vs. Thompson
Randleman vs King Mo
Diaz vs Gomi
Frank Shamrock vs Scott Smith
Feijao vs Babalu
Roger Gracie vs. Mike Kyle
And if they wanted to they could go out and land a Tim Sylvia, Jorge Santiago (I think he’s still got a deal to fight with Strikeforce), Hector Lombard, or Kazuo Misaki, or move up a couple Challenger fighters (Tim Kennedy or Daniel Comier)
That should be enough for two pretty good cards.
So now you’ve joined the supremacy school of just randomly making matchups by throwing together every fighter not signed to Zuffa when talking about possible matchups for the next next Pride?
by Phildo on Sep 18, 2009 7:23 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
LOL, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Guess what? Zuffa could put on about half those fights too if they were to sign all the guys you listed that are FA’s like Arlovski and King Mo. And even then I’m not sure ANY of those fights are good enough to headline.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Sep 18, 2009 9:30 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Question?
Do you guys really want Strikeforce to fail? What is your fricken deal? Quality MMA is hard to come by and both UFC and SF provide it. Bottom line…
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Sep 18, 2009 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have to say that – with no ill will towards Strikeforce – Fedor vs. Brett Rogers is NOT QUALITY MMA. I resent that Fedor is still wasting his time fighting nobodies.
And if something were to happen to Strikeforce so I could see Fedor fight in the UFC…. well, let’s just say I wouldn’t shed any tears.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
No, I just like having rational discussion about the topic.
There is a serious question about the ability of them to put on multiple, and promote cards, that’s a fact.
Taking a list of every fighter not signed with Zuffa and throwing them together into some dream card scenario does not bring anything to the discussion..
Talking about realistic matchups that are being discussed by Strikeforce is relevant
by Phildo on Sep 18, 2009 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Oh yeah, I just grabbed every fighter I could think of of the top of my head. Jacare, Lindland, Werdum, Melendez, Thompson, Randleman, Diaz, Shamrock, Smith, Feijao, Babalu, Gracie, Kylle, Kennedy, Cormier – none of those fighters are currently signed with Strikeforce.
ufc4 said that ’if they were to hold another show before 2010 they would have no fighters available. In response I listed 9 fights Strikeforce could potentially put together. 14 of the 18 fighters I listed are currently signed to Strikeforce, and 4 others who are likely to sign with them or have expressed interest in fighting for them.
Out of all those fighters, they have to sign just enough to fill one card.. I think you would say they have enough fighters to make a pretty good card before the new year.
You guys want to be condescending, that’s fine. But at least be condescending to the argument I’m making and tell me why they couldn’t get enough of those fighters together to fill a four or five fight card.
First of all I’ve never heard of a card with only four or five fights. Second, it’s just unreasonable to think SF can sign that many guys with Zuffa looking over their shoulder. And finally, as I stated before, none of those fight are main event worthy.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
You’ve never heard of a card with only four or five fights? Really? Call me a noob but I always thought that was about the average for Strikeforce’s televised Showtime main cards. But, you seem to know more about these things, so hey.
And is Zuffa swooping in really such a problem when you have only one show to fill? Or maybe you’re you saying Zuffa would grab everyone, even the guys already under contract? I’ve never seen them do that, but again, I defer to your judgement..
And none of these fighters are main event worthy for Strikeforce? Out of all the fighters I listed here’s one made up card:
Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thompson
Nick Diaz vs. Jay Heiron
Robby Lawler vs, Matt Lindland
Kevin Randleman vs. King mo
Scott Smith vs. Tim Kennedy
That wouldn’t be a good enough card for Showtime? Really. I never realized Strikeforce had such standards.
LOL
They are thinking of having one in December or January. A Challengers card in addition to that. =)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Sep 18, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
The whole Shields/Miller/Jacare feud is the best thing Strikeforce has going for them right now. Those three pretty much booked themselves to fight each other especially with all of their trash talk.
by chrisbboy82 on Sep 18, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m loving all this news today! YUSSS!!! Then…Bully Beatdown was awesome today as well. Arlovski came through with the full 10g’s! =)
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
The mounted triangle choke was a thing of beauty…
by Screwface on Sep 18, 2009 3:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The guy sits on his belt for well over a year and now he’s relinquishing it because he isn’t available for two months? Seems weird to me.
what if he becames a huge draw in futute when he is a movie star?
well maybe not like Pachino or Deniro, but u know …. someone that you get use to seeing on the big screen, then he suddenly announces he is back…..on CBS…..you know how many people will turn in to SF? just a thought…..
Dude, he’s 37. This time next year, 38. He’s never beaten anyone worth beating except Frank, and he beat him when Frank is a broke-down old man way past his prime. It’s nice to see that you’ve got hope and all, but there’s no reason to be excited about Grandpa Cung’s chances in the cage.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
He may come back for a special attraction type fight or two but honestly I think his chances in the cage are better than his chances of becoming a big movie star in the next year, he’s not really making blockbuster type movies.
Oh, indeed – his chances in the UFC middleweight division are slim, but they’re a lot better than him becoming a huge action star.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
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