Middleweight Cung Le announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Tuesday and Le’s manager told MMA Junkie that his client has not closed the door on taking a kickboxing bout.
Le (9-3, 2-2 UFC) is currently involved in a lawsuit against the UFC and in a statement released by Le, the fighter said he had been discussing this possibility with his family for some time.
“After several months of thought and discussion with my wife and family we realize our future includes many things, but active competition in mixed martial arts is no longer one of them therefore I am officially announcing my retirement from active competition,” Le said in a statement.
Following the announcement be Le, UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC President Dana White released comments on the retirement of Le.
“Cung Le was a great ambassador of the sport for us in Asia and one of the most exciting middleweights to step foot in the Octagon,” Fertiita said. “We wish him well in his retirement and future endeavors.”
White stated: “Cung Le was awesome and would take any fight. He was such a huge piece of the success of The Ultimate Fighter China. I loved working with him and wish him well in the future.”
Le has all of his professional mixed martial arts bout come in Strikeforce and the UFC. He won seven of his eight fights in Strikeforce and become the Strikeforce middleweight champion in 2008 when he defeated Frank Shamrock by TKO. He entered the UFC in 2011 and went 2-2 in the promotion.