HONG KONG – Have you seen that photo that’s floating around? The one that shows an extremely jacked Cung Le flexing for the camera and looking like a man half his age?

Well, Le said there’s a reasonable explanation for it, and it doesn’t involved Photoshop, camera trickery or Photoshop tools, he said.

The picture, which Le posted on his Instagram account earlier this week, has led to plenty of speculation.

http://instagram.com/p/rzdiMqmuiy

The fighter, who admittedly was pudgy for some earlier MMA fights, raised some eyebrows with the post. One pair belong to UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping (24-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC), who meets Le (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Pass-streamed UFC Fight Night 48 headliner at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau.

“I have seen this picture that is making the rounds on the Internet, and my son actually emailed it to me and said, ‘Dad, are you sure Cung Le isn’t on (testosterone-replacement therapy)?'” Bisping told MMAjunkie earlier today during a media event in Hong Kong. “And I laughed. It’s funny how his genetics seem to have kicked in at 42. I’m sure he trained hard his entire life, but he never had a physique like he has now in his 20s or his 30s. But he’s got there in his 40s.

“Now, who knows? Maybe he’s just really applied himself. I hope that’s the case. I hope he doesn’t piss hot on Saturday night. That would throw the whole fight into disrepute. I’m sure he has. A lot of people aren’t sure whether or not he did (use performance-enhancing drugs). I’m sure he didn’t. I’m sure he did it the old-fashioned way, and I certainly hope so.”

Le, though, doesn’t really understand the speculation. The former Strikeforce champion has never failed a drug test in the sport, and he said he simply had the right circumstances to pull his energy and effort into a proper camp. His physique, he said, is simply a reflection of that.

“That was my real picture,” Le said of the image in question. “I just got off the scale from a hard-ass workout. I lost six-and-a-half pounds, and literally, I just came off the scale. It was just a moment like, ‘Alright, I’m so light.’ I gave it a flex, and someone caught it in perfect lighting. If I looked like that all the time, I would be happy. But I don’t. It was just because that moment. Everyone, they can talk all they want, but do they look like that? No.”

Check out his full explanation above.

For more on UFC Fight Night 48, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.