FanHouse Cung Le

HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. -- Before news broke that Scott Smith was one of the leading candidates to face Cung Le in Le's return to MMA action on Dec. 19, FanHouse spoke to "Hands of Steel" his recent loss to Nick Diaz, his place in the Strikeforce middleweight title picture, and his evolution as a mixed martial artist.

Check out the video interview below.

Cung Le hasn't fought since winning the Strikeforce middleweight title more than a year and a half ago, but he's finally planning to get back into the Strikeforce cage on Dec. 19.

FanHouse's Ariel Helwani learned from a source close to the situation that Le has agreed to fight on the Dec. 19 card, which is being referred to as Strikeforce: Evolution. The card will take place in San Jose and air on Showtime.

Le, who has a professional MMA record of 6-0, has been focusing on acting instead of fighting over the last year and a half, and there's been talk that he might be done with fighting completely. But now he's finally read to return to the cage.

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le shows off his acting chops Friday with the opening of the big-budget sci-fi thriller Pandorum.

The film is Le's most high-profile acting role yet and is a significant step up after taking part in a cameo in his last flick.

"I'm excited to see the movie and I'm excited to see my performance. It's a big thing, " Le told FanHouse. "A lot of people don't realize – they think it's a small part like I had in Fighting but they just got to come out and watch the movie. It's a supporting lead part and I carry 70% of the action in the movie. I can say that my character had a lot to do with how the exciting the movie turned out."

Cung Le has vacated the Strikeforce middleweight belt following 18 months of competitive inactivity since beating Frank Shamrock for the title.

The decision came after Le signed on to star in his own action movie vehicle that will prevent him from fighting in the near future. Tied down to the film commitments and training his teammates, Le tells FanHouse in this exclusive interview that the right thing to do was to vacate the title to allow other contenders to wear the belt in his absence.

Talk to any contender in the Strikeforce middleweight division, and you'll find out pretty quickly that they all agree on one thing: Cung Le needs to defend his title, and he needs to do so sooner rather than later.

When FanHouse spoke to the organization's current 185-pound champion recently, he seemed eager to defend the title he won in March 2008, yet stopped short at saying exactly when that would happen. He also said he would consider vacating the title soon if his schedule doesn't allow him to compete again in the near future. Check out the full video interview below.

One could argue that the Strikeforce middleweight division is the organization's strongest, and we can now add newest signee Matt Lindland to a list that already includes Jake Shields, Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Robbie Lawler, Ronaldo Souza and Jason Miller.

FanHouse spoke to Lindland recently about his new deal with Strikeforce and when he expects to fight next. Check out the full video interview below.

Want to see a fired up Jake Shields? Just mention the name Frank Shamrock.

Shields told FanHouse recently that Shamrock "is scared to fight me" and that he always "disrespects" him. Meanwhile, Shields also said he thinks he deserves a shot at current Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le right away. It's hard to argue with the former EliteXC welterweight champion, who has won his last 12 fights in a row and recently defeated Robbie Lawler in impressive fashion. Check out the full video interview below.

Gina Carano had the weight of a sport on her shoulders. Often referred to as "the face of women's MMA," Carano almost single-handedly carried the promotion leading up to Saturday night's Strikeforce event. But now, it's someone else's burden to carry, after Carano suffered a first-round TKO at the hands of Cris "Cyborg" Santos.

In some ways, it would seem like this is the worst possible outcome for Strikeforce with its poster girl losing, but there's another possibility here, that Cyborg's win adds another major drawing card to the company's improving roster.

Make no mistake: Carano is still a star, even in losing. She has such a magnetic personality and natural star power that the loss will not slow her down. Really, are you going to skip her next match?

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PHILADELPHIA -- For years, there's been a respectful peace between UFC President Dana White and Strikeforce President Scott Coker. In the past, White has pointed him out as a class act and an effective leader. Even when Strikeforce signed a deal with NBC, White had nothing bad to say about Coker.

But after the upstart San Jose, Calif.-based promotion signed coveted free agent and heavyweight star Fedor Emelianenko, the gloves are off, and the first shots of the UFC-Strikeforce war have been fired.

While White still holds a personal respect for Coker, he pulled no punches in bashing the company Coker runs in the moments after a UFC 101 press conference, calling it "Strike-Farce" and characterizing it as a "regional show."

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