Diabate-Cantwell Targeted for UFC Live 3
Mike Whitman Dec 30, 2010
Steve Cantwell (left) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Former WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell will reportedly meet French striker Cyrille Diabate in a 205-pound scrap on March 3 at UFC Live 3 “Sanchez vs. Kampmann.”
The bout was first reported by ESPN on Wednesday, and Sherdog subsequently confirmed the matchup with sources close to the negotiations. Neither the matchup nor the event has been officially announced by the UFC, but the show is expected to go down at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., and the main card will air on Versus.
Diabate was dominated in his sophomore UFC effort by Swede Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 120 in October, as Gustafsson submitted the Frenchman with a rear-naked choke in the second round. “The Snake” fared considerably better in his debut with the promotion, as he knocked out Luis Arthur Cane just over two minutes into the first frame. Prior to the Gustafsson defeat, Diabate had won six-straight contests dating back to his 2006 Pride Fighting Championships loss to current UFC kingpin Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
Cantwell has fallen on hard times as of late, as the onetime WEC champ has struggled to even make it inside the cage. The 24-year-old last fought in September of 2009. He was supposed to return to action in January against Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 108, but undisclosed health concerns caused him to withdraw from the bout and placed his career in jeopardy, according to UFC president Dana White. Cantwell was then expected to face Ricardo Romero at UFC 116 in July but was forced to back out once again due to an undisclosed medical condition. Finally, with his health woes reportedly behind him, the fighter was set to take on Stanislov Nedkov at UFC 120 in October, but injured his knee just two days before his bout during a pre-fight workout.
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