Strikeforce: Evolution

CUNG LE (6-0) VS SCOTT SMITH (16-6)
RONALDO "JACARE" SOUZA (10-2) VS MATT "THE LAW" LINDLAND (21-6)
"RUTHLESS" ROBBIE LAWLER (16-5) VS TBA
MUHAMMED "KING MO" LAWAL (5-0) VS TBA

"About"

The stakes will be high when STRIKEFORCE closes out a spectacular 2009 with the return of one of the most prolific and exciting fighters in Mixed Martial Arts - unbeaten former STRIKEFORCE world middleweight champion Cung Le, who will face Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith in the main event of a star-studded lineup at HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. on Saturday, Dec. 19, on SHOWTIME.

Joining Le (6-0) and Smith (16-6) will be three other outstanding and widely recognized 185-pound stalwarts, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (16-5), Matt "The Law" Lindland (21-6) and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2) as well as light heavyweight star (205 pounds) Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0). Lindland will face Souza in what represents both fighters' STRIKEFORCE debuts. Opponents for Lawler and "King Mo," whose start will also be his first with STRIKEFORCE, will be announced soon.




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Lawler is rumoured to fight Benji Radach. 26 days to go and Strikeforce still doesn't have it's card together.

It'll be fun to see Le back in action. I wonder if Smith will be the first one to actually get him on the ground.

Will this be on regular cable? Like the Saturday Night Fight with Fedor a couple of weeks ago?

The SF cards are getting better and better every time.

It'll be fun to see Le back in action. I wonder if Smith will be the first one to actually get him on the ground.

Apparently you've never seen Smith fight.

I saw him lose against Diaz, and I know he likes to bang, but i think he's got a wrestling background, doesn't he? Le's never been on his back, and it's a part of his game no one's tested yet. Smith would be a fool not to try a takedown.

Edit: Yes, I'm saying his previous opponents, namely Shamrock, were also fools for not doing the same.

I saw him lose against Diaz, and I know he likes to bang, but i think he's got a wrestling background, doesn't he?

Nope.



Edit: Yes, I'm saying his previous opponents, namely Shamrock, were also fools for not doing the same.

Shamrock did try a couple takedowns, and got shrugged off like a child.

Gonna need to rewatch the Shamrock fight, I remember Frank mostly standing there and trying to kickbox instead of taking it to the ground. I suppose it's been a while since I saw it.

hey don't forget the "Lightweight Championship (http://www.bullshido.net/wiki/List_of_Strikeforce_champions#Lightweight_Champion ship) unification bout: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://www.bullshido.net/wiki/United_States) Josh Thomson (http://www.bullshido.net/wiki/Josh_Thomson) vs. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://www.bullshido.net/wiki/United_States) Gilbert Melendez (http://www.bullshido.net/wiki/Gilbert_Melendez)" the website just confirmed it

I really hope CBS airs this. That last card was excellent and this one looks pretty good too. I cant wait to see Le fight again - I hope he's in shape!

Scott Smith's strike defense starts at his face, so this should be interesting.

So the much debated Cung Le returns?


Cung Le talks Strikeforce return
By Mick Hammond/MMAWeekly.com
Nov 10, 7:51 pm EST

What was one of MMA’s busiest weekends, which featured two Strikeforce events in two separate states sandwich a Sengoku show from Japan, one of the biggest happenings was something that took place outside the ring.

After more than 20 months away from the fight game, onetime Strikeforce middleweight Champion Cung Le made the surprise announcement that he would be returning to action in December to take on the ever-dangerous Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith.

“I wasn’t planning to fight this year,” Le admitted to MMAWeekly.com. “I was getting ready to do a movie, a project that I’ve been working on from scratch working with a writer on a script, getting a director – and the project got pushed to next year.

“My plan was to come back after I finished this project and start training to get back into the cage next year, but when I found out a couple weeks ago that the project would be pushed to next year, I spoke to (Strikeforce promoter) Scott Coker, and he asked me if I’d be interested in coming back.”

From there things quickly escalated into Le making his return to fighting, with the approval of one of his trainers.

“I wasn’t far from being out of fight shape, because I’ve been training with fighters when I had the time,” said Le. “(I was) getting Anthony Johnson ready for his fights, James Terry, and a bunch of other fighters.

“The first couple weeks went well, and Javier Mendez gave me the green light, thinking I would be fine to get back in and do a super fight.”

And what a fight it will be, as Le steps in to face possibly the most dangerous fight of his career in Scott Smith.

“I think it’s going to be a fantastic fight,” he exclaimed. “Scott Smith always comes to fight. We’re two exciting fighters who like to stand up and put on a show.”

While people are happy to hear of Le’s return to MMA, one can’t help but wonder what if he hadn’t relinquished his title, which was claimed by Jake Shields about 24 hours after Le’s return announcement.

“I knew what I was doing,” said Le. “I didn’t want to do (just fighting or acting), I wanted to do both, and to do that I had to make sacrifices and that’s what I did.

“Life doesn’t work out the way you want it to sometimes, you have to go with the flow, and that’s what I’m doing. If my (winning) streak keeps going good, then maybe I’ll come back and make a run at it.”

With two highly anticipated films due in China over the next several months, and an original project in the pipeline, it’s not clear whether or not Le will be able to commit to a full-time fight career in the coming year, but he remains optimistic.

“I know there are a lot of people who thought I wouldn’t return; well they can eat their words now,” he stated. “I’m going to fight in December, and then I’m going to try to push this project, and then get in another fight next year or maybe two.

“I’m not going to overlook Scott Smith, he’s one of those dangerous fighters who has a powerful punch and is a game fighter. I’ve got to treat this like a title fight, and whatever happens after this fight, happens. Right now I’ve just got to take it one fight at a time and see how it goes.”

It will interesting to see how this plays out, I expect a pretty good bout.

If Smith is smart, he won't play the stand up game with Le. He should fight to the unknown part of Le's game (and capitalize on it) the way Shogun did to Machida.

If Smith is smart, he won't play the stand up game with Le. He should fight to the unknown part of Le's game (and capitalize on it) the way Shogun did to Machida.

1) Smith is a terrible wrestler and even worse ground fighter; him attempting to take the fight to the ground against Le would be a waste of time and energy

2) "The way Shogun did to Machida"? What was the "unknown" part of Machida's game that Shogun fought to?

If Smith really can't/won't take the fight to the ground, I don't see how he has a chance to win at all.

If Smith really can't/won't take the fight to the ground, I don't see how he has a chance to win at all.

Now you're understanding why they made this matchup.

The point, Condekeeza Mice gets it.

Cung is a greco-roman badass, people seem to forget that real easy.

Le by Americana.