Cung Lee: 5 Memorable Moments of his Career

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le has joined the short list of fighters whom have transitioned from the San Jose-based organization into their new adoptive home in the UFC.

Le made mention of his wish to join the big leagues not too long ago, and the the striking sensation got his wish in the form of former world champ Vitor Belfort. 

The duo will meet at UFC 139 this November, when the two will square off in a pivotal middleweight bout that will most likely serving as the main event of the evening.

The Vietnamese-American took the mixed martial world by storm in just eight professional bouts, but what have been those defining moments that have helped shaped his career up until this point?

5. Cung Le vs. Brian Warren

Cung Le proved his meddle against Warren (photo: sherdog.com)

While Brian Warren (who was 9-6 at the time) never came across as a world beater, he was certainly a legitimate test for Le, who was hoping for success in his sophomore effort as a professional mixed martial artist.

Le left his unblemished career as a kickboxer (17-0, 12 KO) in favor of his new endeavor. After serving several bouts under the Strikeforce banner solely in striking-limited bouts, many were curious how Le would fare against a tested veteran in Warren, who fought the likes of UFC veterans Jason Miller, Karo Parisyan and Jake Shields. 

The Sanshou specialist failed to disappoint, taking out "Mr. Unbreakable" with a first-round TKO and building up his star as a local icon in San Jose. 

4. Beating Frank Shamrock and Earning the Title

Clinching the title from a legend was a huge milestone

At just 5-0 as a pro, Cung Le went on to challenge Frank Shamrock for the Strikeforce middleweight title.

The prolific Shamrock served as the promotion's rightful champion at the time, having come off of an impressive second-round submission victory over fellow UFC veteran Phil Baroni to clinch the vacant belt.

It was a tooth-and-nail kind of bout between Le and Shamrock, which generated a large crowd of 16,000-plus in attendance at the HP Pavilion. 

In the end, it was Le's Sanshou background that proved the difference. For the duration of the match, Shamrock blocked repeated kicks to the head and body with his arms.

In the end, "The Legend" proved worse for the wear and was unable to return from his stool following the end of the third-round. It was discovered that Shamrock had suffered a broken arm, leading Le to be  declared the winner by TKO and becoming the new middleweight titleholder in the process.

3. Knockout Loss to Scott Smith

Smith shocked the world, rallying back for the knockout over Le (photo: sherdog.com)

After nabbing the title from Shamrock in March of 2008, Le took a sabbatical from the MMA world, taking up budding acting opportunities which netted Le mainstream spots in several big-budget movies, including Tekken, Pandorum and Fighting.

Le spent nearly two years away from the cage upon his return when he squared off against the hard-hitting Scott Smith.

During his time away from competition, Le had relinquished the organization's middleweight title and hoped to regain traction in his career before even being able to consider reclaiming what was once his.

After dominating the bruiser for the first few frames, Smith picked up the pace in the third round, hoping to take advantage of a visibly fatigued Le.

"Hands of Steel" lived true to his moniker, rattling Le with a left hook and followed up with a barrage of strikes that eventually lead to the knockout win for Smith. It was the former champ's first loss as a pro. 

2. Revenge

After suffering the first loss of his career, a knockout loss at that, Le was reinvigorated. 

Le immediately went back to the gym in order to redeem himself from his last outing. Thankfully enough, the native of Saigon was pitted against Scott Smith in a highly anticipated rematch.

The Sanshou specialist dictated the pace of the bout early, wilting Smith in the early goings with savage kicks to the body. Eventually Le hurt the heavy hitter with successive shots to the midsection and scoring a stunning second-round knockout, finishing Smith off a well-timed spinning back kick. 

The victory satisfied Le and his appetite to compete, though it spelled bigger and better things to come. 

1. UFC Future and Impending Bout with Vitor Belfort

Though the promotion has failed to acknowledge the bout, several sources have been able to confirm that Le will be taking on a legend of the Octagon in Vitor Belfort.

It's a big step-up in competition for Le, whose biggest claims to fame have been his battles with Smith and his dominating win over Shamrock.

Belfort was last seen in action when he knocked out Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 last month, bouncing back from a KO loss of his own to reigning champion Anderson Silva.

Though Le and Belfort come from opposing backgrounds, both men fancy themselves devastating strikers and have recorded most of their victories by some form of knockout. In Belfort's case, all of his victories inside the Octagon have ended before the final bell. 

UFC president Dana White, in the past, has been vocal about bringing Le into the UFC fold. Now the head honcho will have his wish, and what better way to introduce the Vietnamese fighter by allowing him to fight before his adoptive hometown crowd in San Jose.