Cung Le Vacates Title; Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller for Strikeforce Middleweight Belt

(Hey, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it. Image courtesy of kamipro.)

Strikeforce’s “Fedor vs. Rogers” card on 11/7 has locked down a co-headliner. According to MMA Weekly, Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller will fight for the organization’s undisputed middleweight title — not one of those weak-ass “interim” belts. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker explains the situation:

“I had a conversation with Cung and he has a lot of respect for Jake and Jason, and he’s got another movie coming up, so he’s asked me if he could step down, which we’re going to honor his request. By no means does that mean he’s going to be retired, but he’s going to be unavailable for the next two months…With Cung, every six weeks we’ll be checking back with him. Now that he’s not going to be our title holder, we’ll put him in some big super fights and continue his MMA career, but not have the pressure of defending his belt when he has movie opportunities.”

Mayhem confirmed his bout with Shields via Twitter, writing “Ok bitches who said I was ducking- I duck NO ONE. Fighting Sheilds [sic] on November 7th. Official BOOM.”

Scott Coker told MMA Fanhouse that Gegard Mousasi and Cris Cyborg will also be on the supporting card of “Fedor vs. Rogers,” and that the venue will be announced next week. Early signs are pointing to Chicago’s Sears Centre, as Strikeforce is reportedly in talks with Illinois’s athletic commission to sanction the event.

If you’re curious, Cung Le will be appearing in the sci-fi/horror pic Pandorum alongside Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, and Never Back Down‘s Cam Gigandet; the flick opens next Friday.