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Monday, September 21, 2009
Preview Cung Le's Upcoming Move "Pandorum"
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 4:22 PM
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Shamrock Says He Prefers Tito Ortiz After Diaz
 With his focus now turned directly at Nick Diaz in anticipation of their April 11th main event fight on Showtime, Frank Shamrock told MMAWeekly Radio recently that if he had to pick between Cung Le and Tito Ortiz for his next fight, he'd prefer the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy."
"I think I'd be up for Tito just because I think there's a time limit on that match," said Shamrock. "Both with Tito's fame and his body, and also for me. I love Cung, he's a great guy, but frankly I made nothing on the pay-per-view, and financially it wasn't a big money maker. He doesn't have the personality that gets over, he's just a difficult guy to promote. He looks like a great guy."
The time factor is the biggest reason Shamrock feels that a rematch against Ortiz makes more sense if it gets put together, but he doesn't deny that having a fighter who will promote the fight the way Ortiz can makes a big difference on the back end when it comes to money and fan fare.
"We're in the business of sports entertainment and we're all entertainers. We just happen to fight," Shamrock stated. "If you're not entertaining both in the fight and leading up to the fight, you're not a good entertainer, and there's a lot of fighters we have that are not good entertainers. Unfortunately, Cung falls into that category."
Ortiz is currently still recovering from back surgery, but has said in the past he believes he will be ready to fight again in mid-2009. If a deal can be made to put the two former UFC champions together in a rematch, it could be a super fight that could garner major numbers for either Showtime or CBS if Strikeforce promotes the bout.
Shamrock also knows that the rematch against Cung Le is bound to happen, but he's not rushing it for now.
"I'm not worried about Cung," said Shamrock. "We'll try to get him in this year and if not I'll get him in next year."Labels: cung le, Frank Shamock, Strikeforce, Tito Ortiz
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 3:00 PM
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Coker: Le/Shamrock 2 Will Happen in 09
Cung Le has reportedly earned raves for his acting chops in no less than 3 major motion pictures currently in post production, but truth be told, he misses fighting.
"He's enjoying his movie star career, and he's had some success at it, and he's doing very well," said Scott Coker, CEO of new/old-kid-on-the-block Strikeforce. "We're very happy for him. I talked to him about a week ago and he's itching to get back into the cage."
An elbow injury is currently keeping Le from training, but according to Coker, his schedule is open. Once healed, he should re-emerge in his adopted sport.
"Otherwise, he would be fighting on this show (in April)," said Coker of Strikeforce's Showtime event on the 11th. "But you will see Cung Le back in the cage in Strikeforce at least two times before the end of the year."
Coker also says a rematch with Frank Shamrock, from whom Le took the Strikeforce middleweight title in a fight that broke Shamrock's arm, is inevitable.
"I haven't sat down and talked to Frank about it, but the fight between Frank and Cung, number 2, is a fight that should actually happen before the end of 09," confirmed Coker.Labels: cung le, Frank Shamrock, Strikeforce
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:59 AM
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cung Le Featured on Saturday's Strikeforce on NBC
 PRESS RELEASE:
Strikeforce World Middleweight (185 lb. limit) Champion, Cung Le, will seize the spotlight during an all-new "Strikeforce on NBC" episode on Saturday night.
The special, 30-minute program, devoted entirely to the one-of-a-kind knockout artist, will showcase Le's stoppages of Mike Altman and "Mr. Unbreakable" Brian Warren and will revisit his crushing knockouts of "The Ultimate Fighter" season three veteran, Sam "The Squeeze" Morgan, and Tony "The Freak" Fryklund.
Also included in the show is a feature segment that touches on the personal life of Le, who fled a war-torn Vietnam, just days before the fall of Saigon, as a baby in his mother's arms in 1975.
Le's victories over Altman and Warren were ranked number one and two, respectively, according to the results of an online poll that gave fans the opportunity to vote for their all-time favorite Strikeforce knockout on the promotion's official website, www.strikeforce.com, last week.
A former junior college and high school wrestling star, Le has pioneered the Chinese stand-up fighting art of San Shou, which aided his run to a perfect 16-0 record in the sport of professional kickboxing and an International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) world championship. His kickboxing conquests, which included three victories in K-1 North America "Superfights," have aired repeatedly on ESPN and ESPN2.
Two years after making his highly-anticipated mixed martial arts (MMA) debut, Le notched what is undoubtedly the greatest win of his career - a third round TKO of former UFC middleweight champion and MMA legend, Frank Shamrock on March 29th of this year. The live SHOWTIME televised victory earned Le the Strikeforce middleweight crown.
Le recently returned home from a two month stay in Berlin, where he completed his third acting stint for the silver screen, a supporting role in the science fiction thriller, "Pandorum," which co-stars award-winning actors Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog). The film is slated for release next fall.
"Strikeforce on NBC," the first 52-week mixed martial arts series in network television history, airs every Saturday, immediately following NBC's hit poker tournament series, "Poker After Dark" (check local listings). MMA legend Ken Shamrock and award-winning ESPN announcer, Lon McEachern, co-host each program and provide expert, play-by-play commentary.Labels: cung le, Strikeforce on NBC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:00 AM
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Strikeforce "Greatest Knockouts" Premieres On NBC Saturday
 Press Release:
A special 30 minute episode featuring a collection of the 10 greatest knockouts in Strikeforce mixed martial arts (MMA) history will premiere on NBC Saturday night.
The all-new "Strikeforce on NBC" episode will showcase the handiwork of some of Strikeforce's most lethal competitors, including reigning world middleweight (185 lb. limit) champion, Cung Le; two-time world MMA champion, Frank Shamrock; and superstars Kazuo "The Grabaka Hitman" Misaki and Duane "Bang" Ludwig.
Le's classic knockouts of old rivals Mike Altman and Brian "Mr. Unbreakable" Warren will be displayed as will Shamrock's 21 second decimation of longtime, bitter adversary, Cesar Gracie.
The NBC program consists of the following bouts:
Cung Le vs. Mike Altman
Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie
Luke Stewart vs. Bryson Kamaka
Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs. Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson
Kazuo "The Grabaka Hitman" Misaki vs. Joe "Diesel" Riggs
Duane "Bang" Ludwig vs. Tony "The Freak" Fryklund
Terry Martin vs. Cory "The One" Devela
Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello vs. David "Tank" Abbott
Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello vs. Carter Williams
Cung Le vs. Brian "Mr. Unbreakable" Warren
Fans have the opportunity to vote for their favorite knockout in a poll being hosted online at Strikeforce's official website, www.strikeforce.com. Results of the survey will be displayed on the homepage next week.Labels: cung le, Frank Shamrock, Strikeforce on NBC
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 10:06 PM
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Cung Le Graces Latest Cover of Black Belt, Should Return Early 2009
 Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le graces the cover of latest issue of Black Belt magazine.
Undefeated as a professional - at 6-0 with all of his bouts under the Strikeforce banner - Cung Le has never tasted defeat in mixed martial arts. The cover of Black Belt is the first action that he has seen in quite a while though, as Cung hasn't competed since taking the belt away from Frank Shamrock in San Jose, Calif., back in March of this year.
Le has spent much of his down time in taking on a couple of acting roles. Current speculation is that Strikeforce has plans for him to make his first title defense in early 2009.Labels: Black Belt magazine, cung le, Frank Shamrock, Strikeforce
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 6:24 PM
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