Steven Francis Cantwell (born August 12, 1986) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2012, he competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and for the UFC's sister organization,

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

. There, Cantwell was a one-time WEC Light Heavyweight Champion and he was the last man to hold the title before WEC's Light Heavyweight division was migrated into the UFC.

Background

Cantwell was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

and moved to

Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas (roughly an hour away by driving distance). Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada ...

at the age of 10. After being expelled middle school and high school because of fighting, Cantwell began training in

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

at the age of 16, under the tutelage of Nick Blumgren at One Kick's Gym.

Mixed martial arts career

World Extreme Cagefighting

After acquiring a 3–0 record in smaller shows, Cantwell made his WEC debut at '' WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio'' in 2007 against Brian Stann, where he suffered a quick TKO loss. After two subsequent victories, Cantwell again faced Stann, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion at '' WEC 35'' and won by TKO in the second round. Shortly after Cantwell took the title, the WEC dropped both its Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions, making Cantwell the final WEC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Later that year, Cantwell signed with the UFC, which is owned by the WEC's parent company

Zuffa TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta I ...

. Cantwell faced fellow UFC newcomer Razak Al-Hassan at '' UFC: Fight for the Troops'' an earned a technical submission victory by dislocating Al-Hassan's elbow in an armbar, causing referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight. Cantwell's celebration of the victory and post-fight comments sparked some criticism when he said, "I've been waiting so long to do that, you have no idea". He later apologized for his behavior. He fought Luiz Cané at

UFC 97 ''UFC 97: Redemption'' (not to be confused with ''UFC 17: Redemption'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background This event broke the UFC attendanc ...

, but lost the fight via unanimous decision. Cantwell would next face Brian Stann at UFC Fight Night 13 in what would be their third fight. In their previous fight Cantwell had defeated Stann to become the last reigning WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Cantwell lost the rubber match via unanimous decision. Cantwell was expected to face

Vladimir Matyushenko Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko (born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2014, he competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, Affliction, Jungle Fight, and is the former IFL light heavyw ...

on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108, but pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons. Since there was no time to find a suitable replacement to face Matyushenko, the bout was called off. UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

mentioned at the UFC 108 Pre-Fight Press Conference that Cantwell may never fight again, but refused to disclose what Cantwell's medical issues were. With the questions surrounding his medical condition apparently cleared, Cantwell was expected to face UFC newcomer Ricardo Romero on July 3, 2010 at

UFC 116 ''UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was voted as the Best Major Show in the 2010 List of Wrestling ...

. However, for unknown reasons, Cantwell was replaced by Seth Petruzelli. Cantwell was expected to face Stanislav Nedkov on October 16, 2010 at

UFC 120 ''UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 16, 2010, at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The card featured six televised MMA bouts, as well as four un-aired preli ...

. However less than 48 hours before the event, Cantwell was forced off the card after suffering a knee injury during a pre-fight workout. With no time to find a suitable opponent for Nedkov, the bout was cancelled. Cantwell faced

Cyrille Diabaté Cyrille Moktar Diabaté (born October 6, 1973) is a retired French mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He has also competed in shoot boxing and Muay Thai. He has fought at Palace Fighting Championship, Tachi Palace Fights, PRIDE, ShoXC, Deep, ...

on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann and lost the fight via unanimous decision. Cantwell dropped to

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

for his next fight and faced Mike Massenzio on October 8, 2011 at UFC 136. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Cantwell faced

Riki Fukuda , is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has formerly competed for the UFC, EliteXC, DEEP, DREAM, K-1 (MMA), Shooto, and Pancrase. Currently, he runs an izakay ...

on February 26, 2012 at

UFC 144 ''UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Venue UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Championships and Accomplishments

** WEC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time; final) *

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 7–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 , Brian Stann , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Razak Al-Hassan , Technical submission (armbar) , UFC: Fight for the Troops , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 ,

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Justin McElfresh , TKO (punches) , WEC 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Brian Stann , TKO (punches) , WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Leonardo Pecanha , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Jungle Fight Europe , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:32 ,

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Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

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, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantwell, Steve 1986 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Middleweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Extreme Cagefighting champions Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Long Beach, California People from Pahrump, Nevada