Start of a Rivalry? Jake Shields Calls Out Cung Le

Shortly after winning the vacated Strikeforce middleweight championship, Jake Shields should have been a happy man.

 

However, during Saturday night’s post-fight press conference, Shields was clearly agitated with the prior champion. Shields never had a chance to beat him for the title.

 

“Cung (Le) won’t fight me,” Shields said when asked about a possible matchup. “That’s why he vacated the belt then fights one month later.”

 

Shields is referring to Le’s sudden about-face to return to the cage shortly after forfeiting the middleweight title. Le is set to headline against Scott Smith on the next major Strikeforce card. The show is scheduled for December 19 on Showtime.

 

When December comes around, Le will have been inactive for 21 months. His last fight took place in March 2008. In that match, Le defeated Frank Shamrock to claim the championship.

 

Since the victory, Le has been visible at Strikeforce events but has not entertained any opponents. He has focused the majority of his time and energy into becoming a movie star.

 

The budding actor recently had a brief role in the major movie release Fighting. He also appeared in the film Pandorum with Dennis Quaid and is set to appear in Tekken, which is due out in 2010.

 

While the now-former champ has shifted priorities between fighting and acting, Shields has remained focused on Le since March 2009. It was back then that Strikeforce’s CEO, Scott Coker, announced that Shields would make his middleweight debut against Robbie Lawler.

 

“Cung Le is a friend of mine,” Shields said when asked about his middleweight goals, “but me and Robbie should lead into him.”

 

Without defeating Le, Shields will have a difficult time claiming to be the undisputed Strikeforce champion. That could be the reason for the sudden animosity. It could also be that Shields feels disrespected by Le’s decision to publicly avoid a match-up.

 

Whatever his reason, Shields seems highly determined to push Le into finally meeting him in the cage. At the end of the press conference, the new champion reiterated his displeasure with Le.

 

“He’s the one who vacated his belt then stepped up to fight one month later.”