UFC Quick Quote: Steve Cantwell recants armbar celebration

by MMAmania.com on Dec 17, 2008 9:12 AM EST Comment 58 comments

"The only thing I could to end the fight was force the arm until either it broke or he tapped, and that’s what I did. Fighting is always a series of calculated risks, and he had ample opportunity to tap. But none of us enter the ring trying to end each others career, and I do regret the comments I made and being so animated about it afterwards. It was the adrenaline taking over."

-- The last man to hold the WEC light heavyweight title, Steve Cantwell, tells MMAonTap.com that he apologized to Razak Al Hassan after their recent fight at UFC Fight Night 16: "Fight for the Troops." "Robot" finished Al Hassan with a a first round armbar; however, the Iowa resident refused to tap, which made his elbow buckle under the pressure. The fight was stopped shortly thereafter. In his post-fight comments, a gleeful Cantwell told Joe Rogan and the millions watching on Spike TV that he had always wanted to do that to someone. It didn't go over well. He apparently realized the negative perception that it stirred and has since apologized for his adrenaline-fueled remarks. Al Hassan is expected to make a full and complete recovery -- the injury apparently looked worse than it actually was.

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yeah, that was bizarre, but if hassan had tapped as he should have none of this would have happened, of course the comments afterwards were classless to say the least.

by shamo84 on Dec 17, 2008 9:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think he just did not realize how the words which came out of his mouth sounded. At least he has enough class to apologize – look forward to seeing this guy fight again

by Anger Jack on Dec 17, 2008 10:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But did he apologize only after realizing that about 90 percent of the people who understand the situation think it was a total dick move on his part?

by PW on Dec 17, 2008 8:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What do you think about him vs. Bader?

by NameNotRequired on Dec 17, 2008 8:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what he said wasn’t that bad…I’ve definately heard worse…

by McArthur on Dec 17, 2008 9:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Although we’ve all heard worse, it still was pretty bad. To say that you’ve always wanted to break somebody’s arm, right after you broke somebody’s arm… that’s definitely rubbing salt in the wound.

by UFCAddict on Dec 17, 2008 9:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree but he had ample oportunity to tap…I see your point

by McArthur on Dec 17, 2008 9:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cantwell is a complete jack-ass for his post fight comments and complete joy in breaking his opponents arm. He lost a lot of fans that night and I’m sure that carma will eventually catch up to him when he gets to fight a legitimate 205 pounder.

by Scissor Sweep on Dec 17, 2008 9:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

we all have jackass moments. the guy seems like a straight forward dude, up front and pretty cool. he is def. not as much of a jackass as bj penn, that guy is a dick

by denniskuderjr on Dec 17, 2008 10:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i didnt really know alot about cantwell before that fight and didnt know anything about razak

he gained a fan though i liked him and will be rooting for him next time

there is no rules saying that you cannot break a guys arm the guy is an idiot for not tapping

his words were not well choosen but who’s are after you’ve been in a fight???

by ufcaddict on Dec 17, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i’d rather be watching a guy whos willing to do whatever to stop the other dude then a guy willing to run from him IE machida,or one that wants to dry hump for the entire fight…

his comments weren’t that bad either guys cmon hes a fighter not a politician if you wanna hear well thoguth out speaches go watch an obama debate not the UFC

by randy murders on Dec 17, 2008 12:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The dummy had too much time to tap out and he never chose to so that is his fault – comments were done at the heat of the moment. I don’t fault him one bit and I’m actually excited to see someone exciting in 205. How many times can Dana bring back the Iceman or his twin brother Jardine? If it weren’t for Silva and GSP, the UFC would suck.

by deadgrassinyard on Dec 17, 2008 8:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nah, he shoulda tapped, he kinda deserved the verbal jab; it’s nice to have heart and be willing to put it all on the line but it’s better to know when your bested so you can come back and fight another day. Some of those submissions could be carreer ending; The guy just had too much pride to tap.

by O damn he got caught on Dec 17, 2008 9:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How come when Renzo doesn’t tap he is considered to have tremendous heart and puts a picture of his dislocated elbow on his gym wall as a reminder “never to give up”, but when Razak doesn’t tap he is called a complete idiot?

by Victory is Ours on Dec 17, 2008 1:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

props for that point, victory

by arthurzero on Dec 17, 2008 3:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i think both of them are idiots for not tapping

i actually think he’s an even bigger moron… “never to give up” look what that left you with, a dislocated elbow

if he would of give up he would be in perfect shape

by ufcaddict on Dec 17, 2008 7:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did I advocate what Renzo Gracie did against Sakuraba?? No, so you can stowe that crap; your a$$uming I was a proponent of either man getting their arm broken; thats not the case at all. Dumb point to make, when I didn’t even hint anywhere in my post that Renzo not tapping was some great never give up decision..

by O damn he got caught on Dec 18, 2008 9:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I thought Cantwell’s comments were out of line. I don’t blame Cantwell for dislocating Al Hassan’s elbow, but I do blame Cantwell for not showing any respect to his opponent after he had won.

I am willing to give Cantwell the benefit of the doubt. He’s young and this was his first victory in the UFC. Hopefully he’ll be more respectful of his opponents in the future.

by RealDrew on Dec 17, 2008 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He apologized ladies. Get off his A$$. He was jacked up after the win and said some stupid $hit. Razak should have tapped anyway. Get over it.

by FukStyck on Dec 17, 2008 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My friends and I were talking about it after the fight, and how we went from being fans of his to thinking he just seemed like a punk after making such an idiotic comment.

by UFCAddict on Dec 17, 2008 9:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

It’s amazing how some young guy doesn’t think and makes a heat of the moment foolish comment and people are so appaulled. Then turn around and are so understanding when Rampage goes on a offroad tear running sh*t over almost killing someone in LA. Amazing!

by DJR on Dec 17, 2008 9:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

why is it an idiotic comment? Thats his life, he loves this stuff and thats why he does it. Breaking someones arm when they decide to play tough guy is somthing any jiu jitsu artist would do. So what he said what he was thinking…props for the win. They arent baking cookies my friends…they are wooping each others ass’s in there and thats the price you pay for picking this career.

by What? on Dec 17, 2008 10:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Amen brother! Say it again! I am almost positive he went out, partied hard, then watched his own fight and realized wow, I might’ve come off a little rude there… and thats why he apologized. Worse things have been said, worse things have been done. He was excited. How often do you get to break a dudes arm?

by sp00ner1234 on Dec 17, 2008 10:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i fully agree with you two the only reason i feel it was classless was because it was on the Fight for the Troops and all their horrendous injuries and then he says he’s always wanted to injure someone badly….any other show that would have been acceptable comments

by Breton on Dec 17, 2008 11:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Meh…Appology accepted.

by JB on Dec 17, 2008 9:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

karma will come back to get this young punk. and when it does it’s normally 10x worse. i could see cantwell breaking a leg like corey hill or even worse, because if i was razak, after hearing those comments, i’d want a rematch down the road and i’d tell cantwell,“if i get ur back, to hell with a rear naked choke, i’m snapping ur neck!” what comes around goes around in this great big world of ours

by deuce 4 on Dec 17, 2008 9:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Takin that a little too far I think.. If anything I wouldn’t mind seeing Stann KO Cantwell in a rubber match.

by O damn he got caught on Dec 17, 2008 9:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree deuce4. It is the ref’s job to stop the fight if a fighter is caught in a submission and won’t tap. Cantwell can’t let up or he could lose the advantage/position which could possibly cost him the fight. Granted, Cantwell’s remarks were inappropriate. But at least he recognizes that now and is apologizing for them.

by Adam on Dec 17, 2008 10:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Big F’in deal. What he said wasn’t as bad as licking the blood of your opponent.

by Robert on Dec 17, 2008 9:35 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Penn killed two, sometimes three a night. A fresh young girl, that was his favorite for the first of the evening. For seconds, he preferred a gilded beautiful youth. But the snob in him loved to hunt in society, and the blood of the aristocrat thrilled him best of all.

by O damn he got caught on Dec 17, 2008 10:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

or saying your going to kill your next opponent

by McArthur on Dec 17, 2008 10:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Could be like Karo and say that “What I’m going to do to him will be disturbing”

by O damn he got caught on Dec 17, 2008 10:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

lol a “disturbing” snoozer of a decision is all he does

by brendan on Dec 17, 2008 1:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cantwell is a goof. Can’t wait to see Karma bite this guys ass 10 x like deuce said!! I’d like to see a possessed Babalu accidently forget to allow oxygen to the brain and pop his head clean off. Straight GOOF!

by GodDamnMike on Dec 17, 2008 9:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Cantwell is a professional mixed martial artist, not a kindergarden teach. Can you blame a guy for liking his job?

by Nate on Dec 17, 2008 9:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

i like cantwell, hazzan has all the fault in the world for those comments. as a professional they should know when there caught in a submission like that and if you want to keep fighting without major injuries you should be tapping.

by Jared on Dec 17, 2008 10:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Props to Cantwell for issuing that statement. Hassan is a fool. I look forward to seeing Cantwell fight again.

by Adam on Dec 17, 2008 10:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with many of you on both sides. Yes, Hazzan should have tapped or suffer the injury. And I believe Cantwell’s post fight comments were offending. But I think maybe both fighters learned a lesson that night. Watch what you say and sometimes it takes a bigger man to tip your hat and accept defeat. Remember this was Cantwell’s first fight for UFC after fighting in WEC for much of his career…who wouldn’t be pumped or stuck in the heat of the moment.

by Blades on Dec 17, 2008 10:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I swear to efing god the media and the bullshit that follows. That stupid idiot hazzan mahmuud whatever his name is should have efing tapped like a normal person. He desrved to get that arm ripped the ef off his body…Cantwell did exactly what i would have done given that position. I would never in my life have said sorry or said it was adrenaline speaking….infact i would have said

“He shoulda tapped, thats the point of tapping. If he doesnt tap, he deserves to get his arm broken. if he is not educated enough about jiu jitsu and thought he was in a good position or in a position where he would have got out of it, then thats his problem. At this level your expected to know these things..”

Thats what i woulda said!

by What? on Dec 17, 2008 10:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Those comments wouldn’t have been the same. I don’t think anyone would argue that the should have tapped. It was Cantwell saying that he wanted an opportunity to do that that people didn’t like.

by Punch You in the Ovaries on Dec 17, 2008 11:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hay….He apologized. Let’s give him credit for that and move on. In the heat of the moment, we’ve all said plenty of dumb things.

by CL on Dec 17, 2008 10:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah one time I told a cop he was too much of a pussy to shoot me with his taser. I was wrong

by sp00ner1234 on Dec 17, 2008 10:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

lmao

by Jared on Dec 17, 2008 11:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sucks that his thoughtless comment came on cable. He lost me as a fan (not that I was much of a fan of his to begin with) and it’s hard to know if he’s really apologetic or if he simply realized it was bad career move after getting negative feedback.

It’s weird when guys don’t tap to arm bars. For those who have never fought, I should point out that it’s not really pain that makes you want to tap. It’s this urgent sense of self-preservation. It feels like, “oh shit, this is real bad, get out, get out, get out” So it’s not tough of a person to not tap when you are caught because it’s not really painful. It’s stupid and completely against natural instinct.

Like I’ve said before, it’s probably a good thing that happened in one way: Too many guys don’t tap when they should because a BJJ guy will steadily increase pressure as a courtesy and b/c it’s how they train. A reminder of what not tapping can lead to might stick in some of the fighters minds.

by Punch You in the Ovaries on Dec 17, 2008 11:13 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think it was any worse than when BJ walked across the cage and licked the blood off Sherk’s face AFTER the fight was over. That is pretty much the worst case of sportsmanship I can remember. However, I do think this kind of behavior does damage the sport, especially since it happened on cable.

by stevo on Dec 17, 2008 11:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Whether he should have tapped and the ensuing carnage is one thing but most people have a problem with what Cantwell did after – gloating about breaking an arm and throwing it in the face of a downed opponent. Classless.

by rbk on Dec 17, 2008 11:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

everyone says stupid stuff. it’s not that big of a deal.

by captainbilldude on Dec 17, 2008 11:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

You know what my quetion is to anyone on this board…Why would anyone want this career if they didnt love beating the hell out of someone else? You do realize that to train jiu jitsu or go bxing at a gym is one thing, but to do it for a living (MMA) is a different thing. You have to have a killer mentality. This is how these guys were born. So it makes perfect sense that he said that. I dont see anything wrong with it at all. Fight for the troops or not. Main purpose was to donate some money and I did…everything else regardless of what happened is a show. I also like that Cantwell called out all the new guys and didnt want to jump into the veteran pack ( where he would get the snot beat out of his by say…Wanderlei or even liddell?)

by What? on Dec 17, 2008 12:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Oh, but he’s in love!

Whatever he does is OK then.

Give me a break…

by Space on Dec 17, 2008 1:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Your wrong. I fought full-contact MMA in college. There’s no killer instinct. There’s people who like to test themselves. I enjoy individual sports and this was the ultimate individual sport. It was fun. I wanted to win very bad. I am very competitive. But I was happy to win with minimal damage to my oponent when possible. It doesn’t require being a sucky human being to be an excellent fighter.

by Punch You in the Ovaries on Dec 17, 2008 7:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t have any problem with what he said. It’s exciting to win and it’s a feather in your cap to hurt someone. I know that it’s bad for Al Hussan, but he can be proud of what he did. I have no problem with what he said.

by DB on Dec 17, 2008 12:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What a jackass…this is just as much the UFC’s fault for pairing up fighters with completely different skill levels. I mean, this clown Al Hussan was clearly a novice whom UFC matchmakers brought in as prey to feed to another fighter they want to look good. The worst part of these comments, is the effect it will have on potential mainstream fans who see the brutal thirst for violence, which is inaccurate.

by Amir on Dec 17, 2008 2:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Steve – Congratulations on the win. For anyone who has been in a competitive situation, has won . emotions take over. He is 22 for christ sakes .. give the kid a break. Looking forward to seeing him in action again.

by DownUnder on Dec 17, 2008 2:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

yeah, he’s 22. he should have known better than to say what he said and jump around the ring afterward priding himself with arm breaking motions while screaming to the crowd. you’re giving this guy a walk because he’s only 22, i say he’s well old enough to have learned respect, honor, humility, and the martial way. when he’s 4 years old and he breaks an arm, that’a when he doesn’t know better. when i saw the fight and what he said in the aftermath it made my blood simmer. i’m in no way defending hassan. yeah, that’s what eventually happens when you don’t say uncle and take the loss. no problem with him breaking the arm if the other guy isn’t going to give (because the joint sure will), but you are not going to earn respect from your peers by acting like an asshat and horning off with a display of lacking what it takes to be a professional. baking cookies, ha. i know he’s not baking cookies; he’s representing a sport that is still trying to find the acceptance that other mainstream sports can boast. actions such as that will only set us back.

by arthurzero on Dec 17, 2008 3:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

BS, i saw his post fight interveiw from his dressing room and he said the say thing except he wasnt cut off from joe this time

by nibs12 on Dec 17, 2008 4:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Man the crybabies are out tonight!
How many people on this thread have even been remotely in his situation. When you have that amount of adrenaline pumping through your body you say some things that might hurt somebodies feeling but to say he’ll have Karma and to wish him ill is idiotic. He didn’t even do anything wrong. The same people crying about what he said would be crying how much of an idiot he was if he would have let go. Dumbass should have tapped and thats it.

So breaking someones arm is ok, but darn it if he makes an out of line comment after that he’s lost me as a fan.

by protecdvs.com on Dec 17, 2008 11:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Have you been in that situation, protecdvs? The same adrenaline that made Cantwell disgrace the cause they were fighting for prevented Razak from feeling what was happeneing to his arm. I have fought in the cage (amateur level, of course), but it’s the same adrenaline. I am also a veteran of the Afghanistan campaign, and Al-Hassan’s spirit in the cage represented those of the men in women who have worn and continue to wear the uniform. I don’t blame Cantwell for what he said— I get fired up after fights too. I just wish he would have remembered that he was representing the UFC and their commitment to our wounded and fallen warriors. Just one one more thing, don’t EVER question or judge what someone does in the cage during a fight— it’s not your place. God bless.