Cung Le vs. Scott Smith likely for "Strikeforce: Evolution" on Dec. 19

John Morgan and Dann Stupp, MMAjunkie.com Nov 7, 3:20 pm EST

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Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (6-0) may have vacated his belt to pursue a career in acting, but that doesn't mean he's given up fighting completely.

In fact, Le may return to action before the end of the year.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the event that Le has verbally agreed to face slugger Scott Smith (16-6) at the recently announced "Strikeforce: Evolution" event on Dec. 19 in San Jose, Calif.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com that a main event for "Evolution" had yet to be determined, but the heavily anticipated welterweight title fight between top contenders Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron would not fill that role. A bout between vaunted strikers and California residents Le and Smith might work well in the slot.

The planned bout would serve as Le's first in nearly 21 months. The former champ earned six-straight knockout or TKO wins under the Strikeforce banner en route to claiming the organization's 185-pound title with a win over Frank Shamrock in March 2008.

The 37-year-old never defended the belt, and instead vacated the title that Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Jake Shields will look to claim on the main card of Saturday's "Fedor vs. Rogers" event. The Vietnamese San Shou stylist has instead focused on acting, and appearances in "Tekken," "Pandorum," and "Fighting" took Le away from the cage.

Smith looks to rebound from a June submission loss to Nick Diaz in a 180-pound catchweight affair. "Hands of Steel" absorbed massive damage from Diaz during the three-round affair, and the defeat snapped a run of two-straight knockout wins under the Strikeforce banner.

The former UFC, WEC and EliteXC veteran owns 13 wins by knockout or TKO in his 16 career victories, and a bout with Le would undoubtedly prove a standup affair.

With the addition to the card, "Strikeforce: Evolution" now includes:

  • Cung Le vs. Scott Smith*
  • Champ Josh Thomson vs. TBA (for lightweight championship)*
  • Matt Lindland vs. Ronald "Jacare" Souza*
  • Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. TBA*
  • Robbie Lawler vs. TBA*
* - Not officially announced

For the latest on "Strikeforce: Evolution," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

(Pictured: Cung Le)

Check out more UFC News at MMAjunkie.com. This story originally appeared on MMAjunkie.com and is syndicated on Yahoo! Sports as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.

Updated Nov 7, 3:20 pm EST
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29 Comments

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  1. <i>impulsive_ir</i>
    29. Posted by impulsive_ir Wed Nov 11 8:04pm EST

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    machida vs. le would be nice to see. Don't think it would take too long for le to figure out his timing, but not saying he'd win either.
  2. David
    28. Posted by David Wed Nov 11 6:03pm EST

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    I swear, some of of the comments are really pre-school! "Superman can beat the Hulk!" and "My dad can kick your dad's ass!" Waugh!

    Hypothetical fights that are unlikely. Silva vs. Cung Le... maybe. Dana White is very fond of Le personally but Le is nearing 40, has been fighting in conventional martial arts for years, and now wants to get the real money that he can get from making movies. If he comes to the UFC, it won't be for a long time, and if he does, he will past his prime. Silva will retire before then. I think the fantasy is Anderson Silva of 2008 vs. Cung Le of 2008.

    Truth to be told, the dream matches never work out, timing-wise. Fedor vs. Cro Cop was 2005. I think that was as close as you're going to get. But then there are a lot of fights that turn out to be dream fights in retrospect. Chuck vs. Wandy was an amazing fight because they were both at the same level. Would it have been a better fight in 2005? Maybe. But it might have also been a total wash out.

    But I suppose to stay on the record... Silva would take Cung Le on the ground. A more interesting and less predictable match would be Machida vs. Le. As with most Machida fights, I have no ideas how it would go. Lyoto is vulnerable to strikers who get his timing.
  3. David
    27. Posted by David Wed Nov 11 6:02pm EST

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    I swear, some of of the comments are really pre-school! "Superman can beat the Hulk!" and "My dad can kick your dad's ass!" Waugh!

    Hypothetical fights that are unlikely. Silva vs. Cung Le... maybe. Dana White is very fond of Le personally but Le is nearing 40, has been fighting in conventional martial arts for years, and now wants to get the real money that he can get from making movies. If he comes to the UFC, it won't be for a long time, and if he does, he will past his prime. Silva will retire before then. I think the fantasy is Anderson Silva of 2008 vs. Cung Le of 2008.

    Truth to be told, the dream matches never work out, timing-wise. Fedor vs. Cro Cop was 2005. I think that was as close as you're going to get. But then there are a lot of fights that turn out to be dream fights in retrospect. Chuck vs. Wandy was an amazing fight because they were both at the same level. Would it have been a better fight in 2005? Maybe. But it might have also been a total wash out.

    But I suppose to stay on the record... Silva would take Cung Le on the ground. A more interesting and less predictable match would be Machida vs. Le. As with most Machida fights, I have no ideas how it would go. Lyoto is vulnerable to strikers who get his timing.
  4. <i>datnguyen2k</i>
    26. Posted by datnguyen2k Wed Nov 11 12:04pm EST

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    I don't think anyone in the MMA can handle Cung Le's Taekwondo kicks.
  5. a@#hole
    25. Posted by a@#hole Tue Nov 10 9:04pm EST

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    Oh sorry I didn't get the guy who fights once every 5 years name right.
  6. Sassy Girl
    24. Posted by Sassy Girl Tue Nov 10 8:06pm EST

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    lolz, all interesting posts, the only person can really destroys Cung Le is "may be" Anderson Silva, otherwise Cung Le will destroy the rest..... Jake Shield? what's a joke.... he wouldn't even has a chance stand up or ground, wouldn't last no more than 3 kicks from Cung Le, and by the way not forget to mention Cung Le has excellent wrestle back ground
  7. joe sixpack
    23. Posted by joe sixpack Tue Nov 10 2:29pm EST

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    I remember him from Mortal Kombat.
  8. Louis
    22. Posted by Louis Tue Nov 10 8:20am EST

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    YESSSSS ANderson Silva and Cung Le or GSP and Cung Le that would be great GSp and Anderson hopefully will never happen I love GSP as a fighter and a really good person but Silva would really beat GSP down the Belfoort fight should be good for Silva a striker that can actually bang with Silva it should be entetrtaining 2 top striker and both with BJJ black belts so it will be a great fight
  9. Louis
    21. Posted by Louis Tue Nov 10 8:16am EST

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    SHields is a natural Welterweight and could be successful at middleweight but he needs ALOT of work for it Mayhem almost choked him out the bell saved shields and he knows it and Miller isnt that big for a middleweight but was far bigger and stronger than shields Cung Le is a beast if noone saw the Shamrock fight and Frank is a Hal Of Famer no doubt Cung Le basically dominated him I dont care about the Diaz fight Frank did that when he should not have he put off having major surgery onm his knees to do the fight and Diaz knew it and took advantage of it Frank shoiuld rematch Diaz show Diaz how much of a whiney A$$ he is then show Shields what a real sportsman fighter is about U might not like Franks bro Ken with all the crap he has pulled over the last couple years but Frank has always been a class act for MMA and would destroy a punk like Shields and half the young ones out there and Cung Le will run thru SHields Cung scared? HAHAHA he has a good movie career and decided it was more fair and the honorable thing to vacate the title because of the time the movie would take from his fighting and other fighters deserve the shot the movie fell thru so know he is back that is the real story now Cung will Hurt Shields and I will Love it and BTW I would LOve to see Fedor and Lesnar or Carwin and Fedor I think Carwin will beat Lesnar and Fedor will beat Lesnar as well I want Carwin and Fedor to fight now THAT will be a monster of a fight
  10. Vic L
    20. Posted by Vic L Mon Nov 9 9:24pm EST

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    Cung Le fought and beat Frank Shamrock who is certain to be in the Martial Arts' Hall of Fame when he retires. Two skilled fighters in their prime, Frank a more accomplished puncher and Cung Le a better kicker. They even had time to complement each other when the other guy makes a great move. True sportsmen both but only one can be a champion and for that night, it had to be Cung Le. I hope they have a rematch. I will surely watch, even on PPV. Let's get it on!
  11. Ronnie M
    19. Posted by Ronnie M Mon Nov 9 11:49am EST

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    I agree, its good to have multiple organizations and they should come up with some kind of sanctioning body that makes them fight each other. I remember when there was Pride, UFC, K-1, and King of the Cage happening all the time. Now ufc is starting to get lame by trying to get mainstream. That TV show is borderline gay. It makes me think of Dynasty on steroids. Closed organization competition will never produce a true number one product. You still have to say Fedor is the world champion, not because of any theories of him beating Brock Lesnar but because hes won so many fights. He was Pride champ and hasnt lost a fight since and hes fought a lot of good competition. Even if that competition went downhill after Fedor exposed them. Brock has to get a lot of credible wins under his belt to be in the same breath as Fedor. He is also going to have to win a few dramatically, and I dont mean laying on people.
  12. The Don Mega
    18. Posted by The Don Mega Sun Nov 8 9:11pm EST

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    Go Smith!! Go SacTown!!
  13. vincent
    17. Posted by vincent Sun Nov 8 7:36pm EST

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    Come on guys who keep rooting for Stikeforce to one day take out the UFC. First, and foremost, it won't happen and vice versa.. Secondly, fans of MMA should be thankful that there is another promotion trying to put on good fights beside the UFC so why bash either one, just enjoy them while you can. The UFC is my number one choice but I welcome strikeforce also. They have pretty good fighters and lots of them used to be in the UFC. Check their losses and you'll find that it was from the UFC.
  14. Southpaw
    16. Posted by Southpaw Sun Nov 8 6:42pm EST

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    A**hole:
    If you can't even get Cung Le's last name right, what make you think I will believe you and your source? Lee is the legendary Bruce. He is way ahead of his time and the real deal (maybe the father of MMA). He used move like the arm bar 40 years ago when no one knows what MMA is. Don't believe me, check it out for yourself.
  15. Daniel
    15. Posted by Daniel Sun Nov 8 3:33pm EST

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    Damn competition is always better for the consumer right? I know sf doesn't have the same caliber of fighters as ufc but I'm sure they'll get their fair share of up and comers who end up being great just look at gegard definetly top 10lhw shields miller was boring as f$@$ had to switch it over to coture nogueira for that one definetly one of the best fights of the year!!!!
  16. Daniel
    14. Posted by Daniel Sun Nov 8 3:33pm EST

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    Damn competition is always better for the consumer right? I know sf doesn't have the same caliber of fighters as ufc but I'm sure they'll get their fair share of up and comers who end up being great just look at gegard definetly top 10lhw shields miller was boring as f$@$ had to switch it over to coture nogueira for that one definetly one of the best fights of the year!!!!
  17. Yolanda G
    13. Posted by Yolanda G Sun Nov 8 2:57pm EST

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    im dont wanna take anything away from cung lee but who has he fought ?
  18. IDGAD
    12. Posted by IDGAD Sun Nov 8 1:53pm EST

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    Competition is the best situation for all fans. Enjoy it while it lasts. It may last longer than Dana imagines, though not really an existential threat. Go Strikeforce!
  19. Richard
    11. Posted by Richard Sun Nov 8 7:13am EST

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    Shields is a jackass Cung Le would kick hi head right off his shoulders Shields cant bang for squat I for one cant wait to see that fight.
  20. matt
    10. Posted by matt Sun Nov 8 3:46am EST

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    By the way Dana is a business man the better strike force gets help find the best fighters in the world,..It would take years before Strikeforce had the rep UFC does on having the best of the best but the guys who could be the best need a place
    to help show there skills and Croker knows that and with so many good fighter
    he will be able to put the good cards togather and with mma headed mainstream
    real fans get to keep up with the up in coming and new fans get to watch and learn more....Its a great thing unlike affliction trying to fight w/ ufc on crazy pay and ex top fighters....its like espn fight nights did for boxing but 10 Xs better...plus should help
    the guys that arent in the top 15 get paid more...
  21. matt
    9. Posted by matt Sun Nov 8 3:34am EST

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    Mannnn great fights tonight......
    I heard Shields said Cung Le gave up the belt cuase he is scared
    sorry but if Lee beats Scott I think he will defently beat Shields,Shield
    fight tonight wasnt that impressive he skimmed by.....between him and
    Mayhem.....they just didnt go for it at one time Jason got off for about 10 sec.
    but Cung Le is fast great kicks and will throw down..Miller didnt 2nite when that
    how he fight, and lose his chance he is a banger with good defence but didnt throw
    I think it because they are friends....and Shield goes off at the mouth about Cung Le
    and said he would crush Frank Shamrock...cant wait for either!!
  22. Jimmy S
    8. Posted by Jimmy S Sun Nov 8 2:13am EST

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    YES another great fight card, HOPE strikeforce makes it BIG so I don't have to watch the overrated UFC!!!
  23. a@#hole
    6. Posted by a@#hole Sat Nov 7 7:13pm EST

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    Yeah Dana White is scared of an organization that can't sell a card on PPV. I like Strikeforce too, but lets get real.
  24. Enzo
    5. Posted by Enzo Sat Nov 7 7:02pm EST

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    @#$% that @#$%! Dana scared?! Anderson Silva would eat em both of up!
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