I also genuinely excited to see this fight. Scott Coker of Strikeforce is an excellent promoter IMO. Its too bad he's teamed up with Gary Shaw and EliteXC, because now Shaw is taking some credit for getting this match set up, which is BS. But the partnership will allow this fight to be seen via Showtimeand thats a great thing.
This really is an intriguing fight. While Cung is pretty new to MMA, he is not new to fighting and has exceptional striking tools. As Joe Rogan would say, he has K-1 level striking skills. But this isn't your typical striker only. Because of his extensive San Shou and Wushu training, he has needed to hone his grappling skills over his 15 year professional career. Taking him down from the clinch will be extremely difficult for Shamrock. If anything, the clinch will allow Le to work his phenomenal throws. Even with just 5 MMA fights, Le has alot more real fight experience than your average 5 fight veteran.
Against Frank Shamrock, Cung is facing a legend of the sport who considering his lengthy absence from the sport, is still very dangerous and accomplished. Frank is as well rounded as they come. His grappling is world class and conditioning has never been a problem for him. His striking is solid, but not as good as many claim. While I used to be a big fan of Frank's I've soured on him during his comeback the last 2 years. Too much smack talking for me. His claims of his greatness are tiresome considering the handpicked opponents he's faced. Cesar Gracie, while a BJJ legend, had never been in an MMA fight before the Shamrock fight. He was losing the fight to Renzo handily before getting DQ'd for the illegal knees. The Baroni fight was the first comeback fight that I was actually impressed with Frank's performance. And its that fight that will likely make him the favorite in this fight and deservedly so.
This fight really could go either way. For Cung Le, it will cement him as a legitimate contender. For Shamrock, it will signal that he is fully back on the scene and in control. He didn't want this fight as he's stated multiple times last year. But its the only fight that makes sense in the Strikeforce promotion and I give him credit for stepping up to the plate.
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