Cung Le

8CountNews caught up with former Strikeforce middleweight world champion, and motion picture star Cung Le. Le is starring in the new motion picture “Pandorum.” The movie has a release date for September 25th, and also stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster.Le captured the Strikeforce middleweight world title by defeating Frank Shamrock in 2008, breaking Shamrocks arm in the process. He makes it clear in this exclusive 8CN interview that he's not finished with his MMA career, so look for him to make his return in the near future.

8CN - Thank you for joining 8CountNews.com

CL – Thank you for having me.

8CN – You're a busy guy. You have a new movie coming out on September 25th, called “Pandorum.” Give me your thoughts on what it was like to work with Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster.

CL – Both Dennis and Ben were great. The set for Pandorum was exciting. Everything was built from the ground up. The Director Christian Alvart was great, he's an awesome director. It was an awesome learning experience.

8CN – You had a chance to work with the late David Carradine in a movie called “The Ultimate Fighter. Talk about that experience, and what you took from it.

CL – Yes, I got a chance to work with David Carradine. He was very professional, they changed the dialogue on us a few times, and he was able to memorize his lines within 15 minutes, it was amazing. He gave me a few pointers that I have taken with me into future jobs. I learned a lot from the experience.

8CN – What was it that got you into acting?

CL – Just watching the movies and watching martial arts movies. I always wanted to do it on the big screen. The little parts got bigger, and now this is my biggest part on “Pandorum” and I am excited about it coming out September, 25th.

8CN – What has been the biggest challenge for you being an actor?

CL – For me the biggest challenge wasn't so much the acting, when I was in Berlin the producer told me to lose 15 pounds and keep it off for two months. That was the biggest challenge, keeping that weight off for 2 months.

8CN – Recently you had a new action figure that was designed for you by the Round5 company, talk about that.

CL – They had me send them pictures of me in every single action pose, so for them to make an action figure that looks just like me was pretty amazing.

8CN – Will you act full time now, or will you still fight?

CL – No, I will do both. I want to act full time once I retire from fighting.

8CN – Let's move and talk about your fighting career. You captured the Strikeforce middleweight world title by defeating Frank Shamrock. In the process of doing that, you broke Frank's arm with a kick. Talk about that fight, and how it's changed your life.

CL – After that fight, it changed my life in a big way. I want to thank Frank for giving me a chance to win the title. It was one hell of a fight, the best performance that I ever had.

8CN – You vacated your title to pursue acting. When can your fans expect to see you fighting again?

CL – Hopefully early next year.

8CN – Recently I met the legendary kick boxer Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. He retired undefeated as a world champion. How difficult of a feat do you think that was for him to accomplish?

CL - He was a great kick boxer, and retired undefeated. I hope that I can retire undefeated, but anything can happen in the fight game. I have to be ready when I do make my return.

8CN – The MMA game is now a mainstream sport. What are your thoughts on how far the sport has come so far?

CL – The sport is getting bigger and bigger, and I see it being at the level of the NFL within the next 5 years. It's really blown up just in the past few years.

8CN – What advice would you give a young man or lady that has the same dreams that you have but have not realized them yet.

CL – Train smart, take one thing at a time. Get with a good trainer and a good manager, and get with someone that supports you.

8CN – Do you have any closing thoughts for your fans?


CL – I want to thank all of my fans for their support over the years from back in my kick boxing days, to my MMA days. I want to tell them that I will be back soon.


Learn more about Cung Le – www.cungle.com
Learn more about his new movie “Pandorum” - http://www.pandorummovie.com/
Learn more about Round 5 MMA action figures – www.round5mma.com