There’s a huge risk going for a takedown against Cung. Nobody in MMA has as precise kicking abilit as Cung, so shooting in poses risk for a side kick or round house kick to the face.

It seems that way. I just watched the Fryklund fight again because i’d heard he’d tried to go for the takedown but Cung stopped him each time. To me, it seems like guys are just petrified of Le’s sidekicks. There were a few opportunities where Le’s sidekicks missed on Fryklund, but Fryklund just froze; he had an ample chance to drive in for a takedown, but Fryklund had total deer-in-headlights syndrome.

Kudos to Cung for his Shamrock fight, and props to Shamrock for standing up for (most) of the way against Le. But overral i’m disappointed. I was talking with my training brother, and we both agreed that this fight between Shamrock and Le showcases the lack of knock-out power that Cung possesses. Shamrock’s a tough guy and all, but it took Cung 3 rounds to beat a man who was willing to only strike him wearing 4 ounce gloves and no headgear. Le hit him many times squarely, but Frank just shook it off. Even the commentators were noting that had it been a different fighter, those hits would have been knock out.

Also, the fact that Shamrock and Le were once training brothers makes the outcome a bit dubious; not to say that Frank didn’t fight with all he had, but he definitely gave Le a LOT of leeway. Frank only began to take the fight seriously in the 3rd round, i believe. Did it seem like he was fighting to defend his title? No.

Cung Le has some crazy punch-kick / kick-punch / kick-kick combos.

Maybe Pat or Catty can say something about this, but I’ve heard that the most exhausting technique in MMA is the takedown. In wrestling, it isn’t so bad because both guys are trying to score a takedown at the same time, and you don’t have to worry about getting clocked in the face with a fist or knee. In streetfighting, it’s not so bad because the length of fights tends to be short, and I don’t know if people actually do takedowns in real fights. But in MMA, I’ve heard takedowns are brutally tiring, especially if you’re taking punches while you work it.

So maybe that’s why Frank didn’t want to take him down? I remember the Tito fight, and Frank fought until Tito was too tired and then started pounding him. Maybe Frank was hoping to do the same with Cung. Didn’t work this time though.

So I have to agree with you, Lopes. I kind of wish there had been some ground work. It’s always exciting to see a guy who is somewhat comfortable in all zones. Frykland tried to take Cung down during their fight, and he finally got frustrated and just gave up. Maybe Frank was feeling a little of the same? (though it didn’t look like he was trying to get the takedown…)

Cung was an all american JC wrestler, and placed first in state.

However I am disappointed that Frank didn’t take Le to the ground. It was stupid of him to have said that he was going to beat Le standing up, because, as we saw, when he started to lose he couldn’t fall back to his ground game without losing face. Cung also knew that he couldn’t take Shamrock on the ground… so as it stands, despite the crazy win, we don’t know how Cung Le would do against someone who has no qualms about taking Le out of his striking comfort zone.

I really have to see this fight now. The biggest criticsm against Cung Le was his lack of ground skills, and since his first fight with Tony Fryklund never went to the ground, people were hesitant to say whether Cung was legitimate. I’m a huge sanshou guy, and I’ve been waiting for Cung to move forward with his UFC fights and introduce the sanshou style to millions of Muaythai/BJJ fanatics. His win over Shamrock is a big deal.