Sizing Up Cung Le

Am I alone in thinking that Cung Le is very overrated as an MMA fighter? I watched him from back in the day fighting San Shou. I agree that he is the best San Shou fighter in the world, but as far as MMA goes he seems to be very overrated. Especially with him trying to be the next Jet Li.

To be honest with you, as a hardcore MMA fan, he really offends me. Let’s get a few things straight. He has not fought one quality opponent. Frank Shamrock is no longer to me a quality opponent. Not to mention that unless Frank caught a case of the “Ken Shamrock” ego (thinking that he is now a stand up fighter), that fight was probably a Petruzelli/Kimbo “pay a dude to stand up” fiasco. What offends me is that he wants the notoriety of being this hardcore MMA guy, but he is afraid of fighting a true well-rounded, currently relevant MMA fighter. As if this was all just to setup a movie career.

For me to give this guy any props I want to see him fight a real fighter. If any of you can tell me what is so great about a 6-0 record consisting of Mike Altman (a former San Shou guy) with a 1-4 record, Brian Warren, Jason Von Flue, Tony Fryklund, Sam Morgan, and Shamrock.

If he was an up-and-comer, aggressively trying to have a career in MMA that would be one thing, but as Jordan Breen pointed out in his last mailbag piece, Le controls who he fights and when. I just think that he should be viewed in the same light as Kimbo … spectacles without testicles.
-- Jeromey Andaya

Loretta Hunt, news editor: Thank you for the email, Jeromey. I wouldn’t call Cung Le overrated, because I think a lot of people acknowledge him exactly at the level he is currently at.

Although he is Strikeforce’s middleweight champion, Sherdog.com does not list Le among its top-10 rankings and I haven’t seen him in other rankings. I think most pundits would agree with you, Jeromey -- Le has not faced top caliber opposition.

Le is obviously a talented standup fighter with unorthodox kicks and footwork, and an aggressive, come-forward style. His ground game hasn’t been particularly challenged in his six career bouts, so we don’t have a very good sense of his grappling skills. For instance, in his two rounds with Sam Morgan, Le took Morgan down at will with trips and throws, but didn’t seem interested in keeping it on the canvas for long.

Le focuses on what he is good at -- and that’s OK. He’s reached superstar status in San Jose, Calif., through his San Shou, kickboxing and now his MMA bouts because he’s fun to watch. He keeps his opposition at a distance with his windmill legs, which he’s used to either disable or stop a majority of his foes. Fans love to watch that. Le has a unique style and that’s exciting.

His fight with Frank Shamrock was dramatic. In the arena, 16,326 fans were on their feet the entire time. Those are UFC attendance numbers, largely due to Le. The man has a following.

Has Scott Coker and the rest of Strikeforce staff built on Le’s popularity? Absolutely. Has Le faced opponents more likely to stand with him then wrestle him to the mat? Absolutely. As for the level of competition he has faced, Le is only 6-0. He’s a novice in the sport and I think his progression has been reasonable. I picked Shamrock to win in Le’s last bout and it was Shamrock’s decision to stand -- no one else’s.

Le is now 36 years old. Relatively speaking, he entered MMA late, and he had a full martial arts career before he even stepped foot into the cage, so his body must have gone through some wear and tear. I don’t fault Le for trying to parlay his notoriety into acting. If he can become the next Jet Li, all the power to him. Le has upcoming roles in the video game adaptation “Tekken” and “Pandorum,” starring Dennis Quaid. He seems to be on his way. I’d only expect a few more MMA fights out of him at the most before he focuses on acting full time.

As for Le trying to cash in on being a “hardcore MMA guy,” that might have to do with the people that surround him and steer his career. He is, after all, a fighter. He has six fights to prove it and before that, he was 17-0 in San Shou and 3-0 in K-1. His life is martial arts.

In my interactions with Le, I’ve found him to be a respectable, somewhat humble guy. His family fled war-torn Vietnam when Le was only a baby, and I get the impression he is really grateful for all the good fortune that has come his way.

Not all fighters will become the best. Not all of them want to. That doesn’t mean they aren’t relevant and valuable to the sport.