Chris Howie Reporting:
With just under two months until his much anticipated showdown with “The Legend” Frank Shamrock (28-8-1), Cung Le (5-0) has already been in the gym for a month getting ready. With the 12 week camp 1/3 of the way complete Le feels as though the length of the camp will better prepare him the fight “Having a 12 week camp helps prepare me better for the fight. I don't end up burning myself out and then come fight time I feel over trained. I will be ready for a war with Shamrock”.
Training at the American Kickboxing Academy as well as his own gym has also paid off for him “All the guys I train with really help me further my game, with their help you will see the best Cung Le yet”
Coming off an impressive victory over Sammy Morgan at the last Strikeforce show in November, Le has been on a hot streak going undefeated since entering the MMA ranks. All five of his wins have come by TKO, three of those in the first round. In a fight with Shamrock he knows it could any which way “I think Franks a little bit crazy because I think he will try and stand up with me. So what I need to do is be ready for that with strong take down defense. I don't think he'll be able to stay up with me because he'll realize I'm better on the feet.” If the fight ends up on the ground he'll be ready for that to, “If it goes down I'll be prepared to get it right back standing”
The fight has been one Le has wanted for a while now and although Shamrock always said it would happen Le never knew exactly when it would go down but hoped it would be sooner rather than later. With the date finally set he knows that even though Frank sometimes has a big mouth, he's also a very skilled opponent, “This will be a very good match up. We both have our strong points and I can not overlooked any aspect of Frank's game.”
With the Strikforce middleweight title on the line, this will be Cung's chance to further himself in the middleweight rankings and a win could possibly enter him into the top 10. There is still quite a while before the March 29th event so one can imagine the hype will soon start to build leading up. Frank has already stated in the past that he does not think Cung Le has what it takes to step into the cage with him, but the always humble Le just takes it in stride “Frank will be Frank but we'll see what happens come March 29th”
As for wanting a highlight reel KO over a true legend in the sport Le had this to offer, “I don't go into any fight looking for the big KO anymore. I go in to win and that is what I will be looking to do against Frank.”
