What happens when a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt throws the game plan out the window and attempts to out strike a world-class kickboxer? The answer to that question was displayed tonight at UFC Live between Cyrille Diabate (17-7-1) and Steve Cantwell (7-4).
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Cantwell had a game plan coming into his fight with Diabate, but as many fighters do, he left those plans at the octagon door. Holding the obvious advantage in the ground game, the straightest line to victory for Cantwell would have been to immediately get the fight to the ground. Luckily for the Diabate who has completed in both Muay Thai and kickboxer prior to MMA, that played right into his strengths.
Diabate dominated the opening round, stunning Cantwell and dropping him as the round neared completion. Though Cantwell would survive the first round, the fight was ultimately decided in that round and Diabate knew it. The following two rounds was more of a televised sparing match as Diabate kept Cantwell at a distance, picking him a part with lazy jabs. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t entertaining and at times it was hard to watch but in the end the judges scored the fight a very lopsided (30-27, 30-25, 30-26).
Cantwell has now lost three fights in a row and should he receive his pink slip, he’ll be left to ask himself, “what if I didn’t throw away my game plan?”
