Cung Le (born May 25, 1972 in Sài Gòn, South Vietnam) is a Vietnamese American San Shou kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of San Jose, California. He is the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.
Kickboxing career
Cung Le was undefeated in his professional San Shou career (17-0-0). He earned three bronze medals in his amateur San Shou world competition. He has been a three-time captain of the United States teams that competed in the Wushu World Championships. Le was the U.S. team captain at the World Martial Arts Championships in 1997 (Italy) and 1999 (Hong Kong).
On 15 December 2001 he defeated Shonie Carter by unanimous decision in San Jose, California to win the IKF Pro Light-Heavyweight San Shou World Title.
In May 2003, Le entered into K-1 competitions where he garnered a 3-0 career record, including 1 knockout.
MMA career
Le made his highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut at SVE: Shamrock vs. Gracie on 10 March 2006, at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, knocking out kickboxing rival Mike Altman at 3:51 of the first round. Three months later he faced KOTC veteran Brian Warren, knocking him out with a flurry of punches at 4:19 of the first round.
At Strikeforce: Triple Threat on December 8, 2006, Le defeated Jason Von Flue in 0:43 when the fight had to be stopped due to a cut.
Le defeated a long time MMA veteran Frank Shamrock on March 29, 2008, in a highly anticipated fight co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Le won via TKO when Frank Shamrocks' right arm was broken after a series of kicks (ulna broken), making him Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.
Cung Le and
Frank Shamrock after their bout.
Being described as the "definition of the dynamic striker" in his MMA match against the well known Shamrock, Cung Le is known for his ability to produce highly co-ordinated and effective strikes. Wrestler Goldberg described his spinning back kicks as getting "hit by a truck", and his roundhouse kick is arguably his most dangerous striking kick.
Acting career
Kung Fu Cinema confirms Cung Le will co-star in the 2009 Tekken film as Marshal Law.
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