Cung Le
Le on the set ofInside MMA in August 2009.
Born	Cung Le (1972-05-25)May 25, 1972 (age 53) Saigon,South Vietnam[a]
Nationality	American[1]
Height	5 ft 10 in (177 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Division	Middleweight[2]
Reach	70 in (180 cm)[2]
Style	Sanda
Fighting out of	San Jose,California, United States
Team	American Kickboxing Academy Universal Strength Headquarters US Wushu Team (1995-1999)
Trainer	Shawn Liu (Sanshou)
Rank	Black Belt inTaekwondo All American inWrestling
Kickboxing record
Total	17
Wins	17
By knockout	12
Losses	0
Draws	0
Mixed martial arts record
Total	12
Wins	9
By knockout	8
By decision	1
Losses	3
By knockout	3
Other information
Spouse	Sunshine Spring Le
Children	2
Website	www.cungleofficial.com
Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog
Medal record Men'sSanshou Representing United States World Championships 1995 Baltimore 80 kg 1997 Rome 80 kg 1999 Hong Kong 80 kg

Cung Le (Vietnamese:Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972)^[2] is an American^[3] actor, former professionalmixed martial artist,Sanshou fighter andkickboxer. Le is perhaps best known in mixed martial arts for competing inStrikeforce, holding a record of 7–1 with the organization before its demise. He defeatedFrank Shamrock to become the secondStrikeforce Middleweight Champion before vacating the title to further pursue his acting career. He competed as amiddleweight in theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record of 2–2 with the organization. In kickboxing and sanshou, he is a formerInternational Kickboxing Federation Light Heavyweight World Champion, having a professional kickboxing record of 17–0 before moving to mixed martial arts.

As an actor, Le has appeared in films such asTekken,Pandorum,Fighting,Bodyguards and Assassins (all in 2009),The Man with the Iron Fists (2012),Puncture Wounds (2014), andSavage Dog (2017). He had a lead role in the martial arts filmDragon Eyes (2012), co-starringJean-Claude Van Damme and produced byJoel Silver.

Cung Lê was born in Saigon, South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). In 1975, three days before theFall of Saigon, Cung Le and his mother Anne left Vietnam by helicopter.^[4] Le's father stayed in Vietnam and was caught as a prisoner.^[5] After a few months in a refugee camp in the Philippines, Le ended up inSan Jose, California, where early discrimination and bullying inspired him to learnmartial arts.^[6] His mother enrolled him inTae Kwon Do classes at the age of 10.^[7]

Le beganWrestling competitively at age 14. After being inspired to box bySylvester Stallone´sRocky, Le graduated and earnedAll-American honors in Wrestling his junior year at San Jose High School.^[8] He went on to wrestle forWest Valley College inSaratoga, California, and won the California Junior College State Championship in the 158 lb weight class in 1990 also earning junior college All-American honors. Le also is practiced in a variety of martial arts such asVovinam,Judo,Karate,Muay Thai,Boxing,Kuntao,Sambo,Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, andSanda - which became his main focus.^{[citation needed]}. Le held a professional Kickboxing record of 17–0 and is a three-time world champion in Kickboxing.

Le has won three US Open International Martial Arts Championships (1994, 1995, 1996). In 1998 he won the Shidokan tournament championship.^[9] He has also won four US National Championships (Orlando, FL, 1994, Dallas, TX, 1995, Baltimore, MD, 1997). He earned three bronze medals in his amateur Sanshou world competition compiling an overall amateur record of 18–3. He has been a three-time bronze medalist at theWorld Wushu Championships in1995 (Baltimore),1997 (Italy), and 1999(Hong Kong), and was the team captain during the later two editions. On December 15, 2001, he defeatedShonie Carter by unanimous decision in San Jose, California, to win the IKFInternational Kickboxing Federation Pro Light Heavyweight Sanda World Title.^[10] In May 2003, Le entered intoK-1 competitions where he garnered a 3–0 career record, including one knockout.^[10]

Le made his mixed martial arts debut atStrikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie on March 10, 2006, at theHP Pavilion at San Jose, knocking out kickboxing rival Mike Altman at 3:51 of the first round. Le first met Altman in San Jose, in 1999, in a kickboxing bout where he defeated Altman via a body shot in the third round. Three months later he facedKOTC veteran Brian Warren, knocking him out at 4:19 of the first round. Le had also faced Warren in a K-1 Sanshou bout where he won by decision. AtStrikeforce: Triple Threat on December 8, 2006, Le defeated UFC veteranJason Von Flue in 0:43 of round one, when the fight had to be stopped due to a cut from a kick. Le went on to fightTony Fryklund. Le beat Fryklund viaTKO due to strikes late in the third round. Soon after, Le foughtSammy Morgan atStrikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives where he won the bout via TKO.

On March 29, 2008, atStrikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le, Le defeated long time MMA veteranFrank Shamrock in a fight co-promoted by Strikeforce andEliteXC at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Le won via TKO when Shamrock's right arm (ulna) was broken after a series of kicks, making him the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. On September 17, 2009, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that Le had relinquished his belt after securing a major motion picture deal.^[11]

Twenty-one months after his last fight, Le returned to Strikeforce to faceScott Smith atStrikeforce: Evolution on December 19, 2009. Le suffered his first MMA defeat there, losing via TKO at 3:25 of the third round. After the match, Le expressed interest in an immediate rematch with Smith. His wish was granted on June 26,Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, in which Le defeated Smith via TKO in the second round to avenge his only MMA loss at the time.^[12]

Le has said that it is basically the UFC or bust for him at this point in his fighting career. "I know for a fact that if I do fight again, it's going to be in the UFC. I've never fought in the UFC, but I would love to fight in the UFC. But right now because of my contract with Showtime and Strikeforce, hopefully things can work out because there is a show in San Jose that Cain Velasquez is the main event. I would love to fight in San Jose for the UFC ...."^[13] In an interview with BloodyElbow on October 27, 2011, Le revealed he originally signed a six-fight contract with the UFC.^[14]

Le was briefly linked to a matchup withVitor Belfort on November 19, 2011, atUFC 139.^[15] However, Belfort was removed from the bout and replaced by formerPride FC Middleweight ChampionWanderlei Silva.^[16] Le managed to confuse Silva with his unorthodox kicks, and landed a spinning backfist that dropped Silva. During the second round, Silva managed to shake Le with huge punches and knees that completely broke Le's nose. Le was stunned, bloodied and fell to the ground, and the fight was stopped by the referee.^[17] Afterwards, in the press conference, Dana White commented that it was a good stoppage and that Cung was taken to the hospital.

Le was scheduled to face formerUFC Middleweight ChampionRich Franklin on July 7, 2012, atUFC 148.^[18] However, due to an injury to headliner Vitor Belfort, Franklin instead faced Wanderlei Silva in a 190 lb catchweight rematch on June 23, 2012, atUFC 147.^[19] Le instead faced former title contenderPatrick Côté.^[20] He earned his first UFC win via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Le faced Rich Franklin in the main event on November 10, 2012, atUFC: Macao.^[21] Cung Le won the fight via KO with a powerful hook punch to Franklin's head at 2:17 of the first round.

In November 2013, it was announced that Le would serve as the chief coach and mentor onThe Ultimate Fighter: China, the China-based version ofThe Ultimate Fighter which began airing in December 2013.^[22]

After over a year-and-a-half of being away from competition, Le facedMichael Bisping on August 23, 2014, atUFC Fight Night 48.^[23] After an even start, Le was cut around both eyes in the second round, as Bisping began to land the more powerful strikes. Bisping eventually won the one sided fight via TKO in the fourth round.^[24] Following the fight, Le tested positive for elevated levels ofHGH and was subsequently suspended from competition for nine months.^[25] However, after reevaluating the evidence against Le, the UFC increased his suspension to 12 months.^[26] There has been some dispute of the test, as the testing laboratory in question was not WADA-approved, did not do the appropriate HGH test,^[27] and destroyed the blood sample before confirmatory tests could be done.^[28] Ultimately, on October 21, the UFC reversed their decision and rescinded Le's suspension in light of the aforementioned flaws.^[29] On December 3, 2014, Le told the media that he instructed his manager to request Le's release from UFC due to the drug-test dispute.^[30]

On December 16, 2014, Le was listed as one of three MMA fighters who filed aclass-action lawsuit against Zuffa, LLC., the parent company of the UFC. The suit alleges that the UFC participated in anti-competitive practices that hindered fighters and their mixed martial arts careers. At the time Le was the only active fighter on the organization's roster to be involved in the lawsuit.^[31]

On January 20, 2015, his manager, Gary Ibarra, announced to the media that Le had retired from MMA. Le's decision came after reconsidering his career with his family. He had previously expressed his lack of desire to fight in the UFC and contemplated retirement following the performance-enhancing drug disputes he had with the promotion in 2014. Le believed that the UFC owed him an apology for accusing him of using drugs when the test results later turned out to be faulty. Le, however, said that his retirement was only in MMA. He talked about the possibility of returning to professional kickboxing competitions, where he was active prior to his MMA debut.^[32]

Le co-starred in the live-actionTekken film, based upon the popular martial arts fighting game, asMarshall Law, released November 5, 2009, for the American film market. Le had supporting roles in the science fiction filmPandorum withDennis Quaid andBen Foster, andFighting, released in 2009 alongsideChanning Tatum. He also starred in a Hong Kong martial arts filmBodyguards and Assassins, which was released on December 18, 2009; his film was the first time he worked with and had a fight scene with Hong Kong martial arts superstarDonnie Yen.^{[citation needed]}

He also appeared in a Vietnamese music showParis By Night 99 – Tôi Là Người Việt Nam where he was interviewed byNguyen Cao Ky Duyen; this show also marked one of the few times Le has spoken Vietnamese on camera.^{[citation needed]}

Le had a lead role in the 2012 action filmDragon Eyes, costarringJean-Claude Van Damme and produced byJoel Silver. The movie is based on theAkira Kurosawa classicYojimbo and is "MMA-themed".^[33] Also in 2012, Le played Bronze Lion inThe Man with the Iron Fists, a film directed byRZA.

In 2014, he starred inPuncture Wounds, an action film directed by Giorgio Serafini, co-directed and written by James Coyne.^[34]

In 2015, he appeared as an abbot in the AMC TV seriesInto the Badlands.

In 2017, he appeared in the action movieSavage Dog alongside martial artists and action starsScott Adkins andMarko Zaror.

Cung Le was primarily a stand-up fighter known for his highly unorthodox striking. Drawing from his backgrounds inSanshou,Taekwondo,Wrestling, andBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He had a particularly dangerous kicking game. He was perhaps best known for his use of the spinning back kick and spinning backfist, which he used to win multiple fights by knockout.^[35][36]

Le credits his heroes or inspirational figures in martial arts to beBruce Lee,Gordon Liu,Jackie Chan, andJet Li.^[37]

Le has two sons with his ex-wife.^[38] He is married to a Native American bikini model Sunshine Spring Le.^[39][40]

He often honors Vietnamese communities with theflag of South Vietnam in his fighting uniforms to remember his Vietnamese heritage.^{[citation needed]}

He is fluent in both English andVietnamese.^[41]

Le is a Christian and openly expresses his faith throughout social media.^[42][43]

• List of Strikeforce champions

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCung Le.

• Official website
• IKF San Shou
• Professional MMA record for Cung Le fromSherdog
• Cung Le atUFC
• Cung Le atIMDb
• Profile^{[permanent dead link]} atK-1
• ConvictedArtist.com Interview with Cung Le

• 1972 births
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