UFC 139: What a Cung Le Win Would Mean to the Middleweight Division

It’s a big night for the UFC middleweight division as Cung Le, a man who basically held up the entire Strikeforce promotion on his own until they poached some sensible talent, fights in the Octagon for the first time.

Across the cage he’ll see the legendary stare of "The Axe Murderer," Wanderlei Silva, and the anticipation will be unbelievable. Silva has a reputation for violence unmatched in the sport, and Le is perhaps the flashiest guy out there. He’s also fighting in front of his adopted hometown.

There’s a lot to like about the fight.

There are also questions about what the fight means to the middleweight division, and what a Cung Le win in particular may mean. At this point, it’s hard to say.

Le isn’t getting any younger, and while he signed a six-fight deal with the UFC heading into this fight, that doesn’t mean he isn’t a 39-year-old fighter with eight fights in his MMA career. He’s also been pretty focused on movies recently, tonight being his fourth fight since 2007.

And yet people can’t help but wonder. One of the fantasy fights out there before Zuffa bought Strikeforce was Le and Anderson Silva, a fight guaranteed to provide the most striking flash ever seen in the sport. To suggest a win over Wanderlei Silva tonight puts Le in that company is premature, but it’s a start.

A win tonight for Le, realistically, puts him three wins out from a shot at the title. That’s a tall order for a guy of his age, with his experience, and without a sure commitment to his future in the sport. However anyone who can say they beat The Axe Murderer is able to say they beat a legend, and that holds weight.

Success at UFC 139 will put Le on the perimeter of the top 10, and if the win happens in exciting or explosive fashion you can expect him to be back in the cage quickly at the encouragement of Dana White and Joe Silva. The 185 division isn’t deep, and a matchup with Demian Maia or Alan Belcher could make sense if a push towards the title is what all parties involved are looking for.

Regardless, Cung Le doesn’t need to worry about titles at this point. He’s about to face a very scary dude, and if he wants to go out on a high in the UFC he needs to stay active, win fights and give people the same excitement he did in Strikeforce.

From there, everything else will fall in place.