The Proven King of San Jose is…

San Shou Kickboxer and still undefeated Cung Le (6-0)!  Strikeforce has a new world middleweight champion, Le defeated the former title-holder Frank Shamrock (24-9-1) via broken arm.  That’s right, broken arm, Frank was deemed unfit to fight after an epic third round which resulted in fight stoppage.

The fight was a stand up battle, which was the game plan for both fighters despite Shamrocks obvious advantage on the ground.  Weeks leading up to the fight, Shamrock revealed that he would stand and trade with the famed striker. Shockingly and to the dismay of many, Shamrock did just that, and while exchanges were relatively even through out the bout, which was scheduled for five rounds, the third round was the demise of Shamrock. 

The first two rounds consisted of solid exchanges from both fighters although Le had the edge in both.   It was a apparent these former sparring partners had a lot of respect for each other tapping gloves after good exchanges and smiles.  In the third round the smiles disappeared as Le picked Shamrock apart with counter-punches, strikes to the midsection, and dangerous head kicks. The kicks eventually eventually broke Shamrock’s right arm.  A final two head kicks sent Shamrock stumbling back to his corner after the third round.

As the third round came to a close, Shamrock’s arm injuries were obvious with redness and swelling as commented by announcer Bill Goldberg

The injury forced a stoppage before the fourth round and Le was the new Strikeforce world middleweight champ and king of San Jose.