Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le: FOTY Candidate (and Serious Dark Horse)

The old wisdom about great fights is simple: it's about putting two guys in a cage who have everything to prove.

Rarely does a matchup like that come along between two high profile guys, and even more rarely does it happen between two guys who have already achieved legendary status.

Frank Shamrock may be the greatest champion in UFC history. He was 7-0 in his UFC career and left with his title belt. Never before has the 205 pound division seen a fighter so destructive. Tito Ortiz is sometimes compared, but even he lacks Shamrock's versatility. In case you don't know what I mean, 10 events before Tito Ortiz knocked Evan Tanner unconscious with a slam (and years before Rampage would do it to Ricardo Arona) Shamrock demolished Russian Igor Zinoviev in 22 seconds when he slammed Zinoviev to the canvas with such force that the fight was stopped immediately. Shamrock's strength as a submission fighter is often touted, but his power and ability to knock opponents out with strikes (or even use strikes to draw the submission) is one of the most impressive supplements to his grappling skills in the sport.

Now, on the other hand we have Cung Le, who is not a legend in MMA, and has only had 5 fights in the sport, but Le is a legend in his own right. Despite his youth, he's one of the most established San Shou fighters in the world, and was well respected in K-1, where he was considered one of the most dominant middleweights. His power and explosiveness, not just with his strikes (which have been known to put opponents out, regardless of where they land) but with his takedowns. His ability to explode through moves routinely that most guys never land (like flying body scizzor takedowns) has endowed him with a legendary status in and of itself.

Both train out of San Jose, California, and both are promising to put on a serious show. Shamrock is the larger of the two fights, but Le is the more technical striker and it will be interesting to see if he can keep this fight on his feet.

This is by no means a typical striker vs. grappler matchup, it is a matchup between a guy with incredible striking and takedowns (Le) and one of the most versatile men ever to step foot in the Octagon.

While this fight may not be watched by many, as it is carried on Strikeforce, I can only hope that it impresses those who do, as both fighters are respectable, and at the top of their division. (even if the mainstream MMA media fails to recognize it.