In 2008 we were contemplating Anderson vs cung le

[MCS]

I thought Cung had a real shot at beating Anderson. His distance striking was top notch and he was a decorated striker. I still think it would've been a fun one to watch, as Anderson isn't a brawler like Wand or Scott, and those guys getting up close were a problem for Cung. It would've been distance striking.

 

[Iroh]

Juiced to the gills prime Le vs dick pills AS would have been a good and intriguing fight back in the day.

 

[Perrichet]

Alongside Jones and Fedor yes

 

[Perrichet]

Leave it to perrishit to pollute a thread with gsp fabrication and deception.

Polluting a thread, coming from bjpeengoat. That’s funny

 

[Linelo]

Anderson wanted to face Cung Le over Chris Weidman for the belt iirc.

 

[Perrichet]

Anderson wanted to face Cung Le over Chris Weidman for the belt iirc.

Get ready to be attacked by sensitive Anderson fangirls for posting facts.

 

[bjpenngoat]

Polluting a thread, coming from bjpeengoat. That’s funny

I used to automatically associate dumb posts with a DC avatar, I need to get used to this one now.

 

[Perrichet]

I used to automatically associate dumb posts with a DC avatar, I need to get used to this one now.

Thankfully I don’t have to get used to anything. Either your user name or just the post itself would be enough to detect your rubbish. Usually something about GSP

 

[thewilks]

In 2008 I felt people were really overrating Frank Shamrock & therefore the value of Le’s victory

no doubt Frank was a pioneer in the UFC. The SF version was all smoke & mirrors IMO. He was pretty fragile by that time & a real shadow of his former self

not to discredit Le. Just that a win over 2008 Shamrock was over hyped IMO

In retrospect I'd have to agree with you about the Strikeforce Frank being smoke and mirrors. Caesar Gracie should have never been in the same building as Frank, and we know now that Phil Baroni wasn't a quality opponent (that being said Frank destroyed him). The fight against Renzo is iffy and was a huge dissapointment. Some people think Renzo realized he wasn't going where he thought he would with Frank on the ground and took the easy way out.

At that time though, I still think Frank still had his Aura. I was actually going to post in here that before the Cung Le fight, people were actually saying that Frank could beat Anderson. It's ridiculous, because Frank was shot at the time, but it for sure was being said on here. Until he lost to Cung people still held him in high regard. The Cung fight might have been the first fight where I myself realized how wrecked Franks body was. He said before the fight that he promised he would stand and bang with Cung, and he did, but it was likely because his legs were gone. He almost took Cung out with a broken arm too.

 

[thewilks]

In 2007-2008 people were saying that the jiu jitsu or wrestling equivalent of Anderson would be the one to beat him so the front runners were Filho, Jacare, and Lindland and Henderson. That all settled down after Silva beat Henderson, and more so after he beat Leites and Maia.

 

[pankrat]

Cung was the great asian hope, people were and still are desperate for an Asian superstar fighter. Crazy given the history of martial arts how few people from Asian are competitive in mma. Just proof that traditional martial arts are pretty much useless without a strong western base. And before anyone mentions it, yes Thai boxing works. Why more Thai's are not in the ufc? probably because they compete in that sport and there are not big enough for most ufc weight classes.

The great Asian hope at MW was Yushin Okami for many years

 

[NoStoneUnturned]

I can say with certainty Cung Le would have been a far better and more entertaining fight than Yushin, Leites, or Maia.

 

[pankrat]

I can say with certainty Cung Le would have been a far better and more entertaining fight than Yushin, Leites, or Maia.

Yeah, it's a more interesting match up.
Although I would've favoured those guys to best Cung Le

 

[mkt]

Cung was the great asian hope, people were and still are desperate for an Asian superstar fighter. Crazy given the history of martial arts how few people from Asian are competitive in mma. Just proof that traditional martial arts are pretty much useless without a strong western base. And before anyone mentions it, yes Thai boxing works. Why more Thai's are not in the ufc? probably because they compete in that sport and there are not big enough for most ufc weight classes.

Cung Le was quite successful given that he didn't start MMA until his 30s and even then was only doing it part-time (he was also acting in movies and other things). His overall MMA game was limited, but he did a good job of incorporating San Shoo into MMA, just like Machida did with Shotokan. He had wins over Frank Shamrock, Rich Franklin and others.

 

[dmwalking]

Shame it never happened. It would’ve been super entertaining.

 

[mkt]

I can say with certainty Cung Le would have been a far better and more entertaining fight than Yushin, Leites, or Maia.

Yep. I think Anderson would've engaged in a traditional martial arts battle for a while (lots of spinning kicks, etc.) and it would've been a lot fun. Cung was never afraid to engage. Eventually Silva would matrix him like he did to everyone else. Anderson also had a few advantages:

1. He was much bigger. Anderson could fight at LHW pretty comfortably.
2. Better chin and more finishing power (partially because he was bigger)
3. Much more MMA experience
4. Younger. Cung was almost 40 when he came to the UFC.

 

[mkt]

38 years old isn't prime. 95% of Sherdog believes Fedor was out of his prime by like 32/33.

 

[NoStoneUnturned]

Yep. I think Anderson would've engaged in a traditional martial arts battle for a while (lots of spinning kicks, etc.) and it would've been a lot fun. Cung was never afraid to engage. Eventually Silva would matrix him like he did to everyone else. Anderson also had a few advantages:

1. He was much bigger. Anderson could fight at LHW pretty comfortably.
2. Better chin and more finishing power (partially because he was bigger)
3. Much more MMA experience
4. Younger. Cung was almost 40 when he came to the UFC.

Agreed on all points. Le was a gamer and would have brought the heat regardless of consequences.

 

[bjpenngoat]

Thankfully I don’t have to get used to anything. Either your user name or just the post itself would be enough to detect your rubbish. Usually something about GSP

my rubbish? Mate, you couldnt give birth to an original thought. Have you ever even started a thread on your own? You have absolutely nothing to add to any discussion other than "bj penn sucks" "he quit on the stool" "fat bum ko'd him in a hooters parking lot".

 

[TheSpider]

38 years old isn't prime. 95% of Sherdog believes Fedor was out of his prime by like 32/33.

Yup. And Hendricks retired 32 year old GSP