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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Cung Le pulled off a career highlight on Saturday, hitting Rich Franklin with a fantastic counter-right that knocked the former UFC Middleweight Champion out cold at UFC on Fuel 6 in Macau, China. The strike thrown showed great awareness on Le's part, but he downplayed his part in it a bit after the event.
"I've got to say wow! It's like a dream," Le said on Fuel TV after the event. "I feel like I'm in a dream right now. Thank you, lord. You know, I just saw him timing my kicks, so I waited for him to punch and then threw that overhead right and I got lucky and hit him."
"That was a money punch. I just want to thank my trainer Scott, who had three months away from his family and kids and had to deal with my stuff and my kids, because they are wild. I am just so thankful to be here in China in the first UFC fight. Thanks Dana and Lorenzo for letting me headline their card and, of course, Joe Silva for making this card happen. I want to thank everyone who came out."
The win was his second straight in the UFC, and certainly opens him up to a longer run in the organization than perhaps previously expected. But at 40 years old, Le knows his time is still limited.
"I love to do mixed martial arts," he said. "I love to compete. If I can do it as long as I live, I'll do it. But I know my clock is ticking, so I am just doing my best. I definitely want to take a little vacation before I start training to let my body heal up. You know when I hit him, I felt my shoulder jolt a little, but it was just a lot of adrenaline going."
Penick's Analysis: Le's knockout win was fantastic, but it was definitely more than just a lucky punch. He recognized the opening and took advantage of it. He connected exactly where he needed to, and it provided the biggest highlight of his career yet. He doesn't have a ton of fights left in him, but Saturday showed he's still more than capable of competing.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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