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

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and for the UFC's sister organization,

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

. 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 city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and moved to

Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada–California border and the area had a population of 44,738 as of ...

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

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

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 Brian Michael Stann (born September 24, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist and U.S. Marine who competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also a col ...

, where he suffered a quick TKO loss. After two subsequent victories, Cantwell again faced Stann, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion at ''

WEC 35 ''WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 3, 2008 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. The event drew an estimated 423,000 viewers on Versus. The ev ...

'' 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 Zuffa, LLC () 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 III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the ...

. 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 Mario Yamasaki (born in São Paulo, Brazil on April 22, 1964) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts referee licensed in many states, most recognizable from his duties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as well as founder and chief instru ...

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 Luiz Arthuro Cané Jr. (born 2 April 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Cané has formerly competed for the UFC. Background Born and raised in ...

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

UFC Fight Night 13 ''UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 13'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 2, 2008, at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado, Unite ...

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 ( be, Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч Мацюшэнка, ''Uladzimir Uladzimiravič Maciušenka''; born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 u ...

on January 2, 2010 at

UFC 108 ''UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Background The card for UFC 108 was plagued with numerous injuries ...

, 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 serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

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 Wrestling Observe ...

. However, for unknown reasons, Cantwell was replaced by

Seth Petruzelli Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC, Eli ...

. Cantwell was expected to face

Stanislav Nedkov Stanislav Nedkov ( bg, Станислав Недков, born December 9, 1981) is a Bulgarian professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2015. A professional since 2006, he has formerly competed for the UFC, World Victory Road, and ...

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 p ...

. 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 be ...

for his next fight and faced

Mike Massenzio Mike Vito Massenzio (born November 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He wrestled in New Jersey and was a two-time high school state champion in 2000 (160 lb ...

on October 8, 2011 at

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown ...

. 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. Mixed martial arts caree ...

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) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

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

Mixed martial arts record

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Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, 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 capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

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Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, 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-America C ...

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, TKO (punches) , WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:01 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Tim McKenzie Tim McKenzie (born July 21, 1982) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2011, he fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and Tachi Palace Fig ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Justin McElfresh , TKO (punches) ,

WEC 29 ''WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. The event took place on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on the Versus Network. ...

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

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mike Ashford , Submission (armbar) , RITC 78: Back with a Vengeance , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:01 ,

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

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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 People from Long Beach, California People from Pahrump, Nevada