Steve Cantwell
Steve "The Robot" Cantwell is the current WEC light heavyweight champion and UFC light heavyweight competitor. Born in 1986 in Long Beach, California, Steve and his family moved around a lot while he was growing up. Eventually they settled in Pahrump, Nevada, a small town about an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Growing up was a bit rough for Steve. He was always the new kid, and was repeatedly tested by whichever bully happened to be ruling the roost at the time of his arrival. Consequently, Steve found himself getting into a lot of fights growing up, and was constantly in trouble at school for fighting. Things came to a head for Steve at 16 - He got himself kicked out of school, again, for fighting. His future was in jeopardy.
Wanting only to fight, Steve and his parents decided to channel the negative energy of his street fighting into something positive, something that would shape Steve and give him hope for a future. They sought out a gym where Steve could study martial arts and become disciplined. After his kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu instructors saw his athleticism and realized he had potential to be a competitive mixed martial arts fighter, arrangements were made to move him into the gym to start training full time. At the age of 17, Steve moved out of his parent's house and into the back room of One Kick Nick's gym in Las Vegas. The very same gym that had produced MMA superstar Chuck Liddell.
This wasn't a fancy boarding school scholarship - It was gritty and raw. Steve lived in a 10x10 room with only a bed and a dresser, and his only appliances were a mini fridge and a George Foreman grill. He literally ate canned tuna and oatmeal for a year. But he only had to roll out of bed to train, and that made the sacrifices of his living conditions not only bearable but also enjoyable. Steve thrived under the mentorship of his Kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu instructors, and looking back believes that his experience living in the back of that gym was the best time of his life.
Steve began his professional mixed martial arts career in April of 2005 with a victory by submission over Richie Hightower in the RITC-68 fight. He won his second fight by submission, and his third fight by TKO. After winning his third professional bout, Steve was quickly signed by the WEC. In the WEC, Steve was thrown into the deep end of the pool, so to speak, and lost his first WEC bout against Brian Stann. However, he was able to come back and not only avenge his initial loss, but to emerge from the pool with the light heavyweight championship belt. With the UFC's acquisition of the WEC, Steve has again been thrust into the deep end of the pool, fighting in the top ranks of the UFC. Without a doubt, the future is looking very bright for Steve Cantwell.
When Steve has downtime from fighting and training, he likes to give back to the community where he grew up. He teaches kids kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu in Pahrump, Nevada a couple nights a week. Ironically, He teaches kids fighting at the very same school that he was kicked out of for fighting. Currently, Steve is a black belt in kickboxing under One Kick Nick Blomgren and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Sergio Pehna and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
