Cung Le 'Honored And Excited' to Make UFC Debut And Face Vitor Belfort

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After a 19-month layoff, Cung Le will finally return to fighting when he faces Vitor Belfort at UFC 139 on November 19. That's a lengthy layoff for anyone, but especially long for Le, who turned 39 years old in May. But while most lengthy periods of inactivity are the result of injury issues or contract disputes, the flashy fighter wasn't gone due to rehabilitating from surgery or holding out for more money. He was busy making films.

While he had spoken to the UFC several months ago about possibly joining them, things didn't come together for the two sides until after the UFC moved its original UFC 139 main event of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos up one week to the UFC on FOX premiere.

That left a hole at the top of the card, and Le was more than happy to fill it.


"I feel honored and very excited," Le said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "It's just nerves and everything going on. It's been pretty exciting."

Le said he wasn't quite sure how he got out of his Strikeforce deal to move over to the UFC, leaving specifics to his management, but said he originally began lobbying UFC executives Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White for the opportunity during the Zuffa "Fighter Summit" back in May.

At the time, Le was coming off the taping of back-to-back-to-back film projects and spending time with his family. He says Fertitta told him they'd look to work a fight out for him depending on his movie schedule, but nothing of substance happened until about two weeks ago, when talks were reignited. In a short time, he was approached with an offer.

"Vitor was the only one offered to me, and when they said, 'Hey Cung, we'd like you to fight Vitor,' I said yes," he said. "Go big or go home."

Le said his interest in the matchup comes from the two fighters' backgrounds. Both he and Belfort gained their reputations as strikers. All seven of Le's pro MMA wins are by knockout and prior to that, he gained renown as a pro kickboxer. Belfort, meanwhile, is considered one of the sport's all-time great knockout artists.

"We'll find out who's more dangerous come November 19," he said.

Le said he had signed a six-fight deal with UFC, but said that when it comes to his future, he plans to take things one fight at a time. Le said that in hopes of extending his career as far as it will go, he keeps himself healthy, eating well and consistently training. He also noted he hasn't had a lengthy MMA career which might have led to wear and tear on his body.

The first of those fights comes in San Jose, California, which is Le's hometown. He also trains at the city's American Kickboxing Academy gym. Last Saturday, Le was in Cincinnati and watched in person AKA's huge weekend at Strikeforce, when the gym's fighters (Luke Rockhold, Daniel Cormier, Muhammed Lawal and Mike Kyle) went 4-0. That made Le hungry to return home and get back in the gym to represent his team, and his town in the biggest fight of his career.

"It's a dream," Le said. "It's like coming full circle. My first MMA fight was in San Jose, and now my first UFC fight is going to be in San Jose. Definitely, I'm very excited about it."

 

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Kyle ends Strikeforce prelims with a decision win

CINCINNATI -- Mike Kyle took a decision from Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the final preliminary bout at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov on Saturday night.

In the first round, Kyle charged ahead, throwing a bevy of strikes, but de Lima didn't give up position, throwing several leg kicks of his own. A set of strikes appeared to have de Lima wobbly near the end of the round, but Kyle didn't follow up with anything that would have ended the fight.

De Lima started the second round looking woozy, and didn't improve as Kyle continued to pepper him with punches. De Lima looked a bit livelier later in the round, and he was able to land snapping leg kicks and a few strikes. As the round neared its end, Kyle knocked de Lima to the ground. He responded by throwing an upkick that appeared to be illegal, and Kyle complained to referee Greg Franklin, but no points were deducted or warnings given.

More leg kicks from de Lima and punches from Kyle filled the third round until Kyle took de Lima down late in the round. Kyle threw short strikes, holding de Lima down until the final horn. When it rang out, Kyle jumped up and yelled, "Yeah!"

Kyle has been out of the cage since December, when he lost to Antonio Silva. His record moves to 19-8-1.

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Report: Probation, Sex Offender Status for Mike Whitehead After Plea Deal

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MMA veteran Mike Whitehead is expected to be sentenced to probation after pleading guilty under the Alford doctrine to a charge of attempted sexual assault in Nevada.

Whitehead negotiated the plea with prosecutors at his Monday arraignment, stemming from an incident that occurred in April 2010 at his Las Vegas home.

Whitehead will not be sentenced until January 19, 2012. According to the Las Vegas Sun, he is expected to receive probation, but could receive a prison term of up to 20 years.

According to the Sun, the victim told police that she and a friend had visited Whitehead's home for a barbecue and stayed there after drinking.

Whitehead reportedly told the women they could sleep in his bed. One of the women said she awoke some time later to find her pants down and Whitehead having sex with her. According to the police report, she asked him to stop, but he continued for three minutes before stopping.

Under the Alford doctrine, a defendant does not admit his guilt to the crime, but acknowledges that the prosecutor has enough evidence to convince a jury to convict him of the offense.

Attempted sexual assault is a class B felony in Nevada, and judge Melissa De La Garza told Whitehead that by virtue of his guilty plea, he would be subject to lifetime supervision and be required to register as a sex offender.

Whitehead had originally been charged with sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and open and gross lewdness, as well as drug charges involving marijuana that had been found growing in his home.

A former Ultimate Fighter season two cast member, Whitehead has competed in promotions ranging from the WEC to the IFL to Strikeforce. A 10-year veteran of the sport, he holds a 26-7 career record.

Since his arrest, he has competed twice, winning bouts against Chase Gormley and Eddie Sanchez.

 

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Strikeforce heavyweight GP picks, Vegas-style: Barnett and ?Big Foot? try to survive the semis

Kevin Iole joined me on ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas on "The MMA Insiders" to discuss the lack of publicity for Saturday's Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix card in Cincinnati. Iole also picks the major fights using the Las Vegas betting odds.

Strikeforce heavyweight GP betting odds:

Josh Barnett (-335) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (+275) - Heavyweight GP semifinal #2

Antonio Silva (-155) vs. Daniel Cormier (+125) - Heavyweight GP semifinal #1

Luke Rockhold (+325) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (-400) - Strikeforce middleweight title

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (-160) vs. Roger Gracie (+140) - Light heavyweight

Evangelista Santos (+125) vs. Jordan Mein (-145) - Welterweight

Pat Healy (+105) vs. Maximo Blanco (-125) - Lightweight

Rafael Cavalcante (-145) vs. Yoel Romero Palacio (+115) - Light heavyweight

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Gumbel doing story on MMA, Glazer and Liddell try to punch him

Chuck Liddell still wants to knock someone out and we know Jay Glazer is the master of the perfect punch. This morning, Bryant Gumbel was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Deadspin called the photo "cutesy," so we'll go with that. Apparently, HBO "Real Sports" spoke with Glazer and Liddell for an upcoming piece.

The photo is still better than the recent shot of Glazer with blond matinee idol Clay Matthews.

Tip via Deadspin

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Overeem: ?This fight is not going to go the distance?

Alistair Overeem stopped -- while apparently doing a little shopping -- to talk to "The Shoot" about his December fight with Brock Lesnar. He promised that someone was going to get beat up, and that the fight would not go a full three rounds.

The two behemoths with fight on December 30 in Las Vegas. Who is your pick to win? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Healy starts off Strikeforce main card with submission

CINCINNATI -- Pat Healy came from behind for a submission win over Maximo Blanco at Strikeforce on Saturday night.

Blanco quickly sent Healy to the canvas with a takedown. Healy was able to get back to his feet, but Blanco took over from there, knocking Healy around until with knees and punches until Healy was forced to shoot in for a takedown. It didn't work, as Blanco took top position. Healy grabbed Blanco's leg, which forced an odd position where he put his hands on the ground, and kicked back at Healy's head. Since Healy was a downed opponent, the move was illegal. A point was deducted, and Healy was given time to recover.

When the fight restarted, Blanco started with a quick flurry before Healy took over with a takedown and short strikes.

In  the second, Blanco's striking was worlds ahead of a much slower Healy's. He landed several strikes unanswered, but Healy was able to control the bout at times with wrestling. At one point, he was close to choking Blanco out, until he was able to maneuver out. Late in the round, Healy rolled into the same rear naked choke. This time, he held on for long enough for Blanco to tap at 4:24 in the second round.

This is Healy's third win in a row. His last two were decision wins, so this sort of come from behind victory was a nice change of pace. After a long career with Sengoku, this was Blanco's Strikeforce debut. His record falls to 8-3-1, while Healy's moves to 26-16.

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