Anton Kuivanen

Anton Kuivanen
Born (1984-05-01) May 1, 1984
Pärnu, Estonia
Residence Thailand
Nationality Finnish
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division Lightweight
Reach 72 in (183 cm)
Fighting out of Helsinki, Finland
Team American Top Team
Team MMA Finland
Rank Black Belt in Karate
Years active 2006–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 31
Wins 22
By knockout 6
By submission 8
By decision 8
Losses 9
By knockout 5
By submission 3
By decision 1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Anton Kuivanen (born May 1, 1984) is an Estonian-born Finnish mixed martial artist. Kuivanen trains in GB Gym, which is located in Helsinki, Finland and he has also had training camps in American Top Team located in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Personal life

Anton Kuivanen was born in Soviet Union's Pärnu, which is a town in modern day Estonia. He has two brothers and their mother Valentina is Russian and their father Vladi is Finnish and Estonian. He and his brothers were athletic and active since childhood, playing football and ice hockey. He has also said that his father - who was a competitive rower himself - gave one coin for a pull-up and sometimes two coins for a run. His father wanted to support their athleticism by giving small prizes for them. He started training martial arts at the age of four with Karate. he continued combat training with Capoeira, boxing and wrestling as a youth before becoming interested later in MMA. To support his style, Kuivanen has trained Kickboxing, Muay thai and Bjj for recent years.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kuivanen made his professional MMA debut in January 2006 in his native Finland. Over the next 6 years, he amassed a record of 16 wins and 4 losses.

In April 2011, he won the Cage Lightweight Championship and successfully defended it in October 2011.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On January 16, 2012 it was announced that Kuivanen has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. He made his promotional debut on February 15, 2012 against fellow newcomer Justin Salas at UFC on Fuel TV 1.[2] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Kuivanen fought Mitch Clarke on July 21, 2012 at UFC 149.[3] He won the bout via split decision.

Kuivanen faced Michael Chiesa on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157.[4] Kuivanen lost to Chiesa via rear-naked choke in the second round after doing well for the first round and defending Chiesa's attacks. He made a mistake against the cage and Chiesa - who is known for his submissions and back control - got him down and after small grappling exchange he got the choke locked and gave Anton chance to tap or go out. He was subsequently released from the promotion with a record of 1-2.[5] Anton has stated that he will get back to the UFC someday.

Post UFC

Anton Kuivanen defended his CAGE lightweight title against Jason Pierce on May 11, 2013, winning by clear decision. His goal of getting back in the UFC took a huge step backwards when he was knocked out by Eric Reynolds in 30 seconds. The underdog landed a punch behind his ear when Kuivanen was moving in. Kuivanen lost his balance, dropped to ground and Reynolds knocked him out cold with finishing punches. Kuivanen was very sad and stated, that he had put effort to being more relaxed before and during the fight than before but it backfired and Kuivanen was too relaxed which lead into his first clean knockout loss and for his first loss in Finland since 2006. Reynolds had said after the fight that he is willing to face him in a rematch.

Kuivanen got back in the cage in November 23, 2013 when he faced Diego Gonzalez in Sweden. Kuivanen needed only 52 seconds to knock Gonzalez out. Likewise, this was his first clean knockout win. He dropped Gonzalez and he looked at the referee. When the referee let the fight go on, Kuivanen put Diego out with few more punches to get the win. He will fight some weeks after this fight in a catchweight bout. He will face Oriol Gaset in Salo, Finland. If he wins his fight against Gaset he will possibly face Reynolds in a rematch for the title and/or face former UFC fighter Reza Madadi, who called Kuivanen out after Kuivanen's fight.[6]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 23–9 Thibault Gouti KO (punch) Cage 33 November 21, 2015 3 1:08 Helsinki, Finland
Win 23–8 Eric Reynolds Decision (unanimous) Cage 31 September 19, 2015 3 5:00 Helsinki, Finland Won the Cage Lightweight Championship.
Win 22–8 Sean Carter Decision (unanimous) Cage 30 May 16, 2015 3 5:00 Helsinki, Finland
Win 21–8 Sergej Grecicho Decision (unanimous) Cage 29 February 28, 2015 3 5:00 Helsinki, Finland
Loss 20–8 Dakota Cochrane KO (flying knee) Fight Night Finland: Cochrane vs Kuivanen June 14, 2014 1 0:48 Helsinki, Finland
Win 20–7 Oriol Gaset TKO (knee to the body) Grand Combat Entertainment: Seven Virtues of Bushido December 14, 2013 1 1:03 Salo, Finland Catchweight of 160 lbs
Win 19–7 Diego Gonzalez KO (punches) Superior Challenge 9 November 23, 2013 1 0:52 Gothenburg, Sweden
Loss 18–7 Eric Reynolds KO (punches) Cage 23 September 21, 2013 1 0:30 Vantaa, Finland Lost Cage Lightweight Championship
Win 18–6 Jason Pierce Decision (unanimous) Cage 22 May 11, 2013 3 5:00 Vantaa, Finland Defended Cage Lightweight Championship
Loss 17–6 Michael Chiesa Submission (rear naked choke) UFC 157 February 23, 2013 2 2:29 Anaheim, California, United States
Win 17–5 Mitch Clarke Decision (split) UFC 149 July 21, 2012 3 5:00 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Loss 16–5 Justin Salas Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger February 15, 2012 3 5:00 Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Win 16–4 Thiago Meller Decision (unanimous) Cage 16 - 1st Defense October 8, 2011 3 5:00 Espoo, Finland Defended Cage Lightweight Championship
Win 15–4 Ivan Buchinger Decision (unanimous) Cage 15 - Powered by Reezig April 29, 2011 3 5:00 Espoo, Finland Won Cage Lightweight Championship
Win 14–4 Ryan Bixler Submission (rear naked choke) FF 29 - Fight Festival 29 January 31, 2011 2 4:51 Helsinki, Finland
Win 13–4 Tim Radcliffe TKO (injury) Cage 14 - All Stars November 20, 2010 1 5:00 Espoo, Finland
Win 12–4 Raymond Jarman TKO (knee to the body) Cage 13 - Spring Break May 8, 2010 3 4:00 Vantaa, Finland
Win 11–4 Erikas Petraitis Decision (unanimous) FF 26 - Fight Festival 26 October 17, 2009 3 5:00 Helsinki, Finland
Win 10–4 Yunus Evloev Submission (armbar) LFN 3 - Lappeenranta Fight Night 3 April 25, 2009 1 1:22 Lappeenranta, Finland
Win 9–4 Alexandre Abin TKO (punches) FF 25 - Fight Festival 25 March 14, 2009 1 2:30 Helsinki, Finland
Win 8–4 Owen Hartwig Submission (armbar) AF 2 - Arctic Fights 2 January 17, 2009 1 2:27 Rovaniemi, Finland
Loss 7–4 Bendy Casimir Submission (kneebar) HC 2 - Hell Cage 2 October 19, 2008 1 4:03 Prague, Czech Republic
Win 7–3 Juris Karpenko Submission (armbar) FF 24 - Fight Festival 24 September 20, 2008 1 0:59 Helsinki, Finland
Win 6–3 Vaclav Stastny Submission (armbar) CF 4 - Carelia Fight 4 September 6, 2008 1 1:51 Imatra, Finland
Win 5–3 Sergei Kudrjashov Submission (arm triangle choke) The Cage Vol. 9 - Capital Concussion December 8, 2007 1 1:23 Helsinki, Finland
Loss 4–3 Sergej Juskevic TKO (punches) K-1 HERO's - HERO's Lithuania 2007 November 10, 2007 2 1:27 Vilnius, Lithuania
Win 4–2 Takayuki Okochi TKO (punches) Shooto Estonia - Bushido April 14, 2007 1 0:59 Tallinn, Estonia
Loss 3–2 Marius Liaukevicius TKO (punches) K-1 - Hero's Lithuania November 11, 2006 2 4:27 Vilnius, Lithuania
Loss 3–1 Hiroki Kotani Submission (heel hook) Zst - Prestige September 23, 2006 1 1:17 Turku, Finland
Win 3–0 Cole Lauritsen Decision (unanimous) CF 2 - Carelia Fight 2 September 2, 2006 3 5:00 Imatra, Finland
Win 2–0 Martin Ahlberg Submission (guillotine choke) The Cage Vol. 6 - Balls to the Wall May 20, 2006 1 0:35 Helsinki, Finland
Win 1–0 Sergey Denisov Submission (rear naked choke) EKH - MMA Action January 14, 2006 1 1:48 Espoo, Finland

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ufc.com/fighter/anton-Kuivanen
  2. ↑ "Justin Salas vs. Anton Kuivanen added to UFC on FUEL TV 1". MMAjunkie.com. January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen added to UFC 149 in Calgary". www.mmajunkie.com. April 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ Staff (2012-12-20). "Mike Chiesa vs. Anton Kuivanen added to UFC 157 fight card on Feb. 23 in Anaheim". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
  5. ↑ Joona Pylkas (March 11, 2013). "UFC Releases Finnish Lightweight Anton Kuivanen; Next Move Undecided". mmaviking.com.
  6. ↑ O’Leary, Ryan (November 23, 2013). "Aziz Grinds Out Pulver, Former UFC Talent Kuivanen Wins at Superior Challenge 9". sherdog.com. Retrieved March 5, 2014.

External links

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