Coach Steve Reacts to a 2012 Fight: The Night Dom Cantu Proved a Point

Every once in a while, I dig something out of the archives that reminds me exactly why I love coaching fighters. This week, I pulled up a 2012 bout featuring one of my guys, Dominic Cantu—a wrestler/grappler who never minded throwing hands when the opportunity showed up.

I hit “record” and did a live reaction while watching the fight back. What follows is a breakdown of what happened and why it still holds up over a decade later.

The Setup
Before this fight, our game plan was simple:
If your hands are free, hit somebody. If any limb is free, use it.
This wasn’t a wrestling match. This was a fight. The intention was pressure, violence, and shutting down the other guy’s options before he could build anything.

The Opening Seconds
The nerves at the start of a fight are real. You’re in a cage with someone whose only job for the next few minutes is to hurt you. They lock the door, and you have to find your composure fast.

The bell rings. Dom comes out aggressive. His opponent throws a flying kick, then immediately shoots for a takedown. Dom stuffs it, knees him in the head, and drives him into the mat. From there, the tone of the fight is set.

The Guard Game (aka: “Stop Trying to Armbar Me While I’m Punching You”)
Dom ends up in the guy’s guard. The other fighter starts fishing for an armbar — and normally that’s a legitimate threat. But it’s tough to finish a slick submission when someone is punching you repeatedly in the face.

Dom stacks him, keeps his posture, and unleashes a steady rhythm:
Punch. Punch. Punch.
Every strike shuts down another piece of the submission attempt.

You can actually see the moment the grappling stops being “technical” and starts being “please stop hitting me.”

Seconds later, it's over.

Fight Result & Aftermath
Dom wins in just over a minute.
This fight was one of the moments that shut people up about our gym “not having any ground game.” Dom could wrestle, strike, and stay composed under pressure.

He went on to win a belt, rack up solid amateur fights, and today he’s coaching wrestling at a local high school — passing those skills on to the next generation.

Watch the Breakdown & Original Fight
👉 Watch my reaction video here: https://youtu.be/Nm2tzHa72Lc?si=2yoIr2Bq8gyIHqV6
👉 Watch the original 2012 fight here: https://youtu.be/DoXDFYe6bHw?si=tSyAzCoiCKQbkCrU

Good stuff. Still proud of this one.