Anton Kuivanen was born on May 1,1984 and is an Estonian-Finnish mixed martial artist and coach.
24 Facts About Anton Kuivanen
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2.
Anton Kuivanen has two brothers and their mother Valentina is Russian and their father Vladimir is Finnish and Estonian.
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Anton Kuivanen started training mixed martial arts in 2004, winning all of his amateur bouts and eventually winning Finnish mixed martial arts championship in 2006.
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Anton Kuivanen made his professional mixed martial arts debut in January 2006 in his native Finland.
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On January 16,2012 it was announced that Anton Kuivanen has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
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Anton Kuivanen made his promotional debut on February 15,2012 against fellow newcomer Justin Salas at UFC on Fuel TV 1.
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Anton Kuivanen fought Mitch Clarke on July 21,2012 at UFC 149.
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Anton Kuivanen faced Michael Chiesa on February 23,2013 at UFC 157.
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Anton Kuivanen lost to Chiesa via rear-naked choke in the second round after doing well for the first round and defending Chiesa's attacks.
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Anton Kuivanen 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.
11.
Anton Kuivanen defended his CAGE lightweight title against Jason Pierce on May 11,2013, winning by clear decision.
12.
The underdog landed a punch behind his ear when Anton Kuivanen was moving in.
13.
Anton Kuivanen lost his balance, dropped to ground and Reynolds knocked him out cold with finishing punches.
14.
Anton 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 Anton Kuivanen was too relaxed which lead into his first clean knockout loss and for his first loss in Finland since 2006.
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Anton Kuivanen got back in the cage on November 23,2013 when he faced Diego Gonzalez in Sweden.
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Anton Kuivanen dropped Gonzalez and he looked at the referee.
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Anton Kuivanen will fight some weeks after this fight in a catchweight bout.
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On July 1,2018, Anton Kuivanen faced the then-reigning lightweight King of Pancrase Takasuke Kume in a non-title bout at Pancrase: 297.
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Anton Kuivanen lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
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Anton 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.
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However, Anton Kuivanen withdrew from the bout due to a knee injury which needed surgery and was replaced by Tom Santos.
22.
Anton Kuivanen lost the fight via knockout in the second round.
23.
Almost two years removed from his previous bout, Anton Kuivanen is expected to face Artur Sowinski for the vacant EFM Lightweight Championship at EFM 2 on September 11,2021.
24.
On July 1,2020, Anton 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.