Steve Cantwell: Limb Snappin’ in his Dreams (Who cares?)
By wookalarman on Dec 16, 2008
From the moment that Steve Cantwell uttered the idea it was his dream to break an arm, the keyboard warrior onslaught began. The warriors came out in masses and immediately flooded MMA internet forums with Cantwell hate speech. Accusations rang in all different tones and Cantwell was given the unpopular vote as “that guy”. The whining began last Wednesday after Cantwell’s first round submission over Razak Al-Hassan and still has not ceased. Frankly, I’m sick of it.
Do we really need to have another episode like this again? Another chunk of endless whining, such as like what came up after Brock Lesnar’s post fight celebration versus Heath Herring. Do people really think that Steve Cantwell’s dream of snapping an arm is the demise of MMA? Think again, all you misguided Cantwell misanthropes.
Accusing Cantwell of being unsportsmanlike in his post fight actions is completely out of realm of any sort of rational thought. People seem to have this thought implanted in their brains that MMA fighters are these perfect little benevolent beings that forget why they stepped in the cage once the fight is over. Sorry, that’s not the case. It’s not like fighters such as Cantwell can simply flip a proverbial “switch” and suddenly act like a shy school boy after winning a math team meet. It’s almost as if people have devised some crazy idea that because he mentioned his “dream” to break an arm, it was the sole motivation of the fight to snap a limb.
Originally unbeknownst to me, I am finally able to detect a trend in these criticisms. Apparently, you must earn a certain degree of “status” before you can engage in any sort of questionable post fight physicalities or verbalizations. I suppose it’s ok for Tito Ortiz to wear shirts detailing explicit sexual acts or insults, as well as ok for Josh Barnett to make a slashing motion over his throat with his thumb after winning. But alas, Cantwell is not given the permission to fire off an excited, adrenaline-fueled comment that is being misinterpreted as a vehement ulterior motive.
The comments made by Cantwell can be explained in a way that [hopefully] can be understood. Like mentioned before, this has nothing to do with being unsportsmanlike. If Cantwell’s actions can be considered unsportsmanlike, then we’ll have to set a consistent precedent and be accusing many other fighters of being unsportsmanlike. With that said, Cantwell’s actions can simply be chalked up to immaturity. While not particularly intelligent to say, people still shouldn’t have a reason to find it offensive. Unsportsmanlike conduct would have been if Cantwell would have kept the armbar locked on even when the ref stepped in to stop the fight. That situation would have been reminiscent of Babalu when he refused to release an anaconda choke on David Heath–of which culminated into a fine of $25,000 and a release from the UFC.
Being just twenty two years of age and stepping up into the UFC in front of millions is a hard pill to swallow. Not to mention coming into the UFC as a World Champion. I’m not a psychologist, but I can imagine it can leave you with no regulation method as to what spills out of your mouth . Cut him some slack for crying out loud! Be excited that he threw a highly-touted but rarely used Brazilian kick and layed down a textbook armbar. These are the types of things that should be refreshing to MMA fans and overshadow any minor impurities.
If Cantwell was truly unsportsmanlike in his post fight conduct, the UFC and sanctioning bodies would have taken notice. He would have been fined a portion of his fight purse and most definitely would not have received submission of the night honors. Regulation of the sport will not slow down, North Carolina won’t have their MMA licensing revoked, and Cantwell will surely not be removed from the UFC. Sorry to those who actually let those ideas graze across their minds during their post fight musings.
Filed Under: MMA in Media • Opinion
Comments (15)
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Fist, I think it’s funny that above this comment box says “Fighter bashing not allowed”. What about fan bashing? That’s what this article is. Calling the people who support and ALLOW the sport of MMA to exist, “whining” and “keyboard warriors”, it’s absurd. Remember that it’s us whiny keyboard warriors that are the reason you have a job at all. And we’ve spoken. We have said that sportsmanship is just as important as success inside the octogan. We don’t freak out when a fighter celebrates, so we’re not like the NFL, trying to fine people for being doing an end-zone dance. But our stomachs churn when Cantwell confesses to being happy about inflicting a possible career ending injury to one of his opponents. If Dustin doesn’t like that opinion, then he needs to find a new sport to spew nonsense on. This article is a complete joke.
Evan, your delusion of grandeur is astounding and, unfortunately, too common. Not only is it incredibly hypocritical to attack Dustin’s opinion so defensively when he’s making a point about yours, this insinuation that the majority of MMA fans are upset about Cantwell’s antics is ridiculous.
Most fans don’t care. They care that he’s a good fighter (though I disagree on that point, but it’s a totally different matter).
Dustin is a fan of the sport, he’s one of the guys that keeps the sport alive. So am I. I disapprove of Cantwell’s antics, I don’t like anyone who talks smack. So what? Does it depreciate his value as a fighter? Hell no. And as a result, I don’t care.
If you’re going to whine and act like a keyboard warrior over an article that talks about keyboard warriors, then you’re doing yourself a great disservice, and making Dustin’s point for him. I’m sure he appreciates that.
I watched the fight and the post-fight – I really didn’t see anything that looked like unsportsmanlike. Al-Hassan was in a serious armbar. Why he didn’t tap is beyond me. You don’t tap in an armbar like that, you’re asking for your elbow to be popped. What, is Cantwell supposed to feel bad for the guy because he didn’t tap?
It’s nice when fighters are diplomatic and say things like, “my hat’s off to the guy, and I hope his arm recovers fully,” but they don’t NEED to say things like that to be sportsmanlike.
The only person to be blamed for Al-Hassan’s possible career-ending injury is Al-Hassan. Cantwell has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
Wow…I have received emails from business men in Nigeria offering me $20 million that were better written than this. The entire article reads like the result of someone taking a box of words and throwing them down a set of stairs.
Seriously, the grammar is so poor it is nearly unreadable.
Uh oh, the grammar police are in the building. Everybody run!
Mike, I’m with you on this one. Cantwell can be a dick some time, but if the guy isn’t going to tap, you have to follow through on the submission. Cantwell gave him plenty of time, and he got the win he deserved for being the superior technical fighter.
Just for the record, I didn’t see any glaring grammatical errors in this post and had no problem reading it. And I’m a writer by trade. Seems to me the above comments were written by a couple of guys sitting around with their thumbs up their asses and little else to do but be trolls.
“From the moment that Steve Cantwell uttered that the idea that it was his dream to break an arm, the keyboard warrior internet onslaught began”
First freakin’ sentence….and it continues on from there. I am not even trying to be mean, just suggesting that the writer focuses a bit on editing before posting. The sentence structure is really poor throughout the piece.
Fantastic. Keep the comments coming!
Ryan- good catch. The first sentence was a bit verbose/run-on and I didn’t notice it until you highlighted it for me. Good eye.
Tap or snap. Although a simple ‘sorry’ would have been a tad more appropriate…from Cantwell.
The public has already spoken. The article is junk.
Go check out sherdog and mma.tv and see what others have to say.
Dustin is a middle-school level writer with bottom shelf opinions, and reading this article is a waste of time…no matter what his boyfriend Josh Stein has to say.
And the angle that “if it gets people talking, then its GOOD” and that Dustin has baited the public, doesn’t fly.
This article is an epic failure.
We know it.
You know it.
lol.
If you do a search, you’ll see that Josh Stein and Dustin work together at this website. So, he’s not really giving an objective opinion. Just coming on here to defend his buddy.
These guys are pure class. A reader (evan) gives his opinion on the article, and a co-worker from the website shows up and starts calling him names.
Quality stuff, fellas!
I feel that in ALL sports today their is something known as swagger!
(example: The U)
Being confident is a part of the game. The mental side that gets often over looked. Part of that confidence is being able to talk the talk. Although I don’t always agree with the Rashad Evans type of antics I do see a place for them in MMA. There will always be a good guy and a bad guy. Hate him for the comments you still have to agree that it was a picture perfect arm-bar. If he wants to say that was his goal then good on him for being honest. In my opinion this isn’t as bad as Babalu holding onto a choke too long, or Penn licking blood. It may not be tasteful but his remarks have a place in the sport.
Phil,
Its pretty obvious that we are all writers on the site.
Evan left a comment, but calling the article a joke left him wide open. Rebuttals are welcome and enjoyed. Writer bashing is played out already.
[...] when I initially posted an article defending Steve Cantwell, I knew I’d be under heavy scrutiny. I said to a reader in an e-mail that [...]
I think a lot of people here missed the point of the comments section. The point is to respond to the content and refute the opinion of the article, not bash the writer. Save bashing for personal e-mails to the writer. I’ll welcome them with open arms.
I guess the maturity level is clearly shown in this comment thread. The motto seems to be: “I don’t agree with your opinion, so I’m going to personally attack you.”