On Saturday morning, Cung Le returned to the Octagon following a nearly two-year absence to face off against middleweight contender Michael Bisping.
Le had been on a two-fight win streak, both back in 2012, as he scored a unanimous decision over one-time middleweight title challenger Patrick Cote and followed that up with a first-round knockout over a former middleweight champion in Rich Franklin. That knockout over Franklin also earned Le a Knockout of the Night bonus.
Bisping came into this fight following a five-round unanimous decision loss to Tim Kennedy back in April. Bisping has been unable to win two straight since 2011 and was 2-3 in his last five going into his fight against Le.
Le had success in the first round against Bisping, but in the second, Bisping landed a shot that badly damaged Le's eye, and it swelled up very badly. After that happened, Bisping was able to fight his fight, utilizing quick combos and good footwork to land punches in bunches.
Michael Bisping comes thru in a must-win spot. Finish of Cung Le is particularly useful. Volume, accuracy there all night.
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) August 23, 2014
Le continued to fire back with body shots and attempted spinning kicks and other strikes, but it was never enough to put Bisping in danger.
In the fourth round, Bisping kept up a fast pace and landed an impressive combo 57 seconds into the round. He landed a knee up against the cage and Le fell down. Bisping only had to land a few more shots after that before the fight was over.
After the fight, Le said that he wanted to continue fighting, so there's still a chance of it, but when he gets back in the cage is a huge question.
Le is now 9-3 in MMA and is 42 years old with a solid film career. This year, he starred in a film called Puncture Wounds alongside Dolph Lundgren. In addition to that, he was a "mentor" on The Ultimate Fighter: China as well as a head coach.
Should Cung Le Fight Again?
Le says that he wants to fight again, and should he get that opportunity, he could face off against any number of fighters. Guys like Tim Boetsch and Mark Munoz would make solid opponents, but if he takes another two years off, there could be a whole new crop of fighters that he may want to face.
If Le decides to go more towards acting rather than fighting, maybe he could get a role in The Expendables 4, which essentially has already been confirmed.
Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture has appeared in all three Expendables movies so far, Ronda Rousey appeared in the most recent one, and having a third UFC fighter in the series would be pretty cool for fans to see.
