Anton Kuivanen (born May 1, 1984) is an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and coach. Kuivanen trains and teaches at the GB Gym, which is located in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

and he has also had training camps in

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no for ...

located in

Coconut Creek, Florida Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Situated north of Miami, it had a population of 57,833 in 2020. It is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city seceded from ...

Background

Anton Kuivanen was born in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

, Estonia. He has two brothers and their mother Valentina is Russian and their father Vladimir is Finnish and Estonian. Kuivanen's first touch with martial arts was

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

at the age of four in his native Estonia. Anton and his brothers were athletic and active since childhood, playing football and ice hockey. Towards his teenage years, he complemented his combat training with

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

before becoming interested in mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kuivanen started training mixed martial arts in 2004, winning all of his amateur bouts and eventually winning Finnish mixed martial arts championship in 2006. Kuivanen made his professional mixed martial arts debut in January 2006 in his native

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. 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 Justin Bernard Salas (born March 13, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight. He was signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2012 to 2016. Background Salas is from Green River, Wyoming and had a very s ...

UFC on Fuel TV 1 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kuivanen fought

Mitch Clarke Mitchell Bradley Clarke (born November 24, 1985) is a Canadian professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He fought as a Lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and is the head coach at Complete Fitness & Martial Arts, St ...

on July 21, 2012 at

UFC 149 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. He won the bout via split decision. Kuivanen faced

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor sin ...

on February 23, 2013 at

UFC 157 ''UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 23, 2013, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background The headline bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche was ...

. 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. Despite having one bout left in his contract, he was subsequently released from the promotion with a record of 1–2.

Post-UFC career

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 Reza Madadi (, (born June 20, 1978) is a retired Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist from 2006 to 2019, Madadi is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fightin ...

, who called Kuivanen out after Kuivanen's fight. On July 1, 2018, Kuivanen faced the then-reigning lightweight King of Pancrase

Takasuke Kume is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. Mixed martial arts career Shooto Kume started his professional career in 2007. He fought mainly for Shooto, but also fought for Pancrase and ''Heat'' early in his care ...

in a non-title bout at Pancrase: 297. Kuivanen won the fight via technical knockout. Next Kuivanen faced Valeriu Mircea at Cage 44 on September 8, 2018. Kuivanen lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Kuivanen was then expected to face Takasuke Kume in a rematch, which would have been for the Pancrase Lightweight Championship, at Pancrase 304 on April 14, 2019. However, Kuivanen withdrew from the bout due to a knee injury which needed surgery and was replaced by Tom Santos. After a year of rehabilitating the knee, Kuivanen faced Dan Moret at UAE Warriors 9 on November 29, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round. Almost two years removed from his previous bout, Kuivanen is now expected to face Artur Sowiński for the vacant EFM Lightweight Championship at EFM 2 on September 11, 2021.

Coaching career

Having graduated as a certified sports coach from

Pajulahti Sports Institute Pajulahti Sports Institute ( fi, Liikuntakeskus Pajulahti) is a sports and leisure centre, situated in Nastola, Lahti, Finland. It is about an hour's drive away from Helsinki area, and fifteen minutes drive from Lahti city centre. Pajulahti has a ...

, Kuivanen has been coaching at Crest Professional Fighting Center since 2006. On July 1, 2020, Kuivanen was appointed as the head coach of Primus Fight Team, the team he has trained in since the beginning of his mixed martial arts career.

Personal life

Kuivanen and his wife have a daughter, Vilma (born 2018) and a son (born 2022).

Championships and accomplishments

*Cage MMA **Cage Lightweight Championship (Two time; Current) *Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com **2013 Knockout of the Year vs. Diego Gonzalez

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 26–13 , Artur Sowiński , Decision (majority) , EFM Show 2: Polska vs. Bułgaria , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria , , - , Loss , align=center, 26–12 , Dan Moret , KO (punches) , UAE Warriors 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 26–11 , Valeriu Mircea , TKO (punches) , Cage 44 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 26–10 ,

, TKO (punches) , Pancrase 297 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 25–10 , Junior Maranhão , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 42 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 24–10 , Tetsuya Yamada , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 38 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–10 , Felipe Silva , TKO (punches) , Cage 35 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–9 ,

Thibault Gouti Thibault Gouti (born February 27, 1987) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2011, he has also competed in the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Gouti was amas ...

, KO (punch) , Cage 33 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 23–8 , Eric Reynolds , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8 , Sean Carter , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 30 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 21–8 , Sergej Grecicho , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 29 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–8 ,

Dakota Cochrane Dakota Galen Cochrane (born May 1, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who fights in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. He has competed for Bellator MMA, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Legacy Fighting Championship, Titan Fightin ...

, KO (flying knee) , Fight Night Finland: Cochrane vs Kuivanen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 20–7 , Oriol Gaset , TKO (knee to the body) , Grand Combat Entertainment: Seven Virtues of Bushido , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 ,

Salo, Finland Salo () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of wh ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 19–7 , Diego Gonzalez , KO (punches) , Superior Challenge 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 , Eric Reynolds , KO (punches) , Cage 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 ,

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Jason Pierce , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–6 ,

, Submission (rear naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:29 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Thiago Meller , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 16 - 1st Defense , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Ivan Buchinger , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 15 - Powered by Reezig , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Ryan Bixler , Submission (rear naked choke) , FF 29 - Fight Festival 29 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:51 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Tim Radcliffe , TKO (injury) , Cage 14 - All Stars , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Raymond Jarman , TKO (knee to the body) , Cage 13 - Spring Break , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Erikas Petraitis , Decision (unanimous) , FF 26 - Fight Festival 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Yunus Evloev , Submission (armbar) , Lappeenranta Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 ,

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Alexandre Abin , TKO (punches) , FF 25 - Fight Festival 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Owen Hartwig , Submission (armbar) , AF 2 - Arctic Fights 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 ,

Bendy Casimir Bendy Casimir (born June 10, 1980) is a French professional Lightweight mixed martial artist. He has competed for the WEC and M-1 Global. WEC career He made his WEC debut against Ricardo Lamas on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47, losing via first-round ...

, Submission (kneebar) , HC 2 - Hell Cage 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Juris Karpenko , Submission (armbar) , FF 24 - Fight Festival 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Vaclav Stastny , Submission (armbar) , CF 4 - Carelia Fight 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 ,

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Sergei Kudrjashov , Submission (arm triangle choke) , The Cage Vol. 9 - Capital Concussion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3 , Sergej Juskevic , TKO (punches) , K-1 HERO's - HERO's Lithuania 2007 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 ,

Takayuki Okochi Takayuki Okochi (born August 15, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 7-14-3 , Vladimir Zenin , Decision (unanimous) , Bushido FC: Lege ...

, TKO (punches) , Shooto Estonia - Bushido , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 , Marius Liaukevicius , TKO (punches) , K-1 - Hero's Lithuania , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:27 ,

, Lithuania , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 ,

Hiroki Kotani Hiroki Kotani (born July 11, 1971) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 3-12-4 , Masashi Takeda , KO (punch) , Zst: Zst 12 , , align=cent ...

, Submission (heel hook) , Zst - Prestige , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Cole Lauritsen , Decision (unanimous) , CF 2 - Carelia Fight 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Martin Ahlberg , Submission (guillotine choke) , The Cage Vol. 6 - Balls to the Wall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Sergey Denisov , Submission (rear naked choke) , EKH - MMA Action , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 ,

, Finland ,

References

External links

Twitter

Anton Kuivasen haastattelu 21.8.2012
* *
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuivanen, Anton Finnish male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Finnish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Finnish capoeira practitioners Finnish Muay Thai practitioners Living people 1984 births Estonian emigrants to Finland Finnish people of Russian descent Finnish people of Estonian descent Finnish expatriates in Thailand Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Helsinki Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters