Fight of the Week: Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock

http://youtu.be/ZQQqkqIWnYc
Cung Le is set to face former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin on Nov. 10. A victory over Franklin would no doubt be the biggest win in Le’s career. While Le is concerned with the match against Franklin, there was a time where he went up against another former UFC champion.

In 2008, Le, who was 5-0, was going up against MMA legend and former UFC Light Heavyweight (then known as the Middleweight) champion Frank Shamrock. Shamrock was on a comeback, having defeated Phil Baroni to become the first Strikeforce Middleweight champion.

In front of a roaring crowd, Le opened the round by missing a kick while Shamrock tried to take control from the back.

Le was able to keep the fight standing through the first-round, tagging Shamrock with some kicks to the lower part of the jaw. Late in the first round, Shamrock almost capitalized with a mistake after Le missed a roundhouse kick, only for Le to regain his composure.

One thing that made this fight entertaining was how both fighters seemed to have fun during this fight. Despite Le controlling most of the fight in the first and second round; Shamrock was able to keep a smile on his face while trying to defend Le’s kicks

Shamrock then threw a punch while Le landed a roundhouse kick that knocked the mouthpiece out of Shamrock’s mouth.

In the third round Shamrock continued to take punishments from Le’s strikes. Halfway into the third round, Le caught one of Shamrock’s kicks before knocking the champion to the ground.

In the last minute of round-three, Shamrock seemed to be on the verge of a comeback as he threw a barrage of strikes at his opponent.

As the clock winded down regained his composure and threw a combination of kicks and punches before time ran out.

Before the fourth round could begin, Shamrock appeared to be hurt, which resulted in the end of the fight and Le becoming the new Strikeforce Middleweight champion.

 

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