Cung Le is probably the one name on the list that doesn't absolutely have to retire right now - but he should consider it after another fight, two at the most. In Le's case, it's not that he has taken a lot of beatings in MMA. In fact, Le brings up that old Indiana Jones quote: "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage." A lifelong practitioner of martial arts, Le got started in the MMA game relatively late. Currently 42 years old, he didn't have his first MMA fight until 2006, in Strikeforce. He went on to become their middleweight champion, and with a record of 9-2 between Strikeforce and the UFC (the only two MMA promotions he has fought in), it's not like he has taken a lot of damage - though both losses were TKOs, the more recent a pretty rough one at the hands of Wanderlei Silva in Le's UFC debut. He's not a candidate for CTE or related conditions at this point, and probably won't ever be - but there is the fact that at 42 years old, Le really has little left to prove, and with a lucrative acting career and the possibility of a non-combat position with the UFC (Le played the "Dana White" role in The Ultimate Fighter: China), he's financially sound as well. Le is fighting Michael Bisping in August in China, and should he lose that fight, he'd be 2-2 in his UFC career, and 9-3 overall. For a guy who entered the sport in his mid-30s, fought some of the best, and held a belt in a major promotion, I'd say he could retire with his legacy secure, though he might want to take one more fight to go out on a win. It wouldn't hurt him - but there's always that "what if" question. Fighters sometimes stay too long looking for that last win. If Le should defeat Bisping, he'd be on a three-fight win streak (his last two UFC wins were over former title challenger Patrick Cote and former champion Rich Franklin) and he might parlay that into one last big fight - maybe not a title shot, but a bout with a returning Anderson Silva, for example. He could also choose to go out on a high note should he beat Bisping, who is a solid name for anyone to get past. Either way, at this point, Le has little reason to keep fighting - and that usually means a fighter should consider calling it a career, no matter how much fun it is to watch Le in action with his highlight reel kicking ability.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
