Anton Kuivanen

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

Background Anton Kuivanen was born in Pärnu, 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 at the age of four in his native Estonia. Towards his teenage years, he complemented his combat training with Capoeira, boxing and wrestling before becoming interested in mixed martial arts. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

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

Kuivanen faced Michael Chiesa on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. 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.

On July 1, 2018, Kuivanen faced the then-reigning lightweight King of Pancrase Takasuke Kume 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.

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, Kuivanen has been coaching at Crest Professional Fighting Center since 2006.

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

Artur Sowiński Decision (majority) EFM Show 2: Polska vs. Bułgaria

Sofia, Bulgaria Loss

Dan Moret KO (punches) UAE Warriors 9

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Valeriu Mircea TKO (punches) Cage 44

Helsinki, Finland Win

Takasuke Kume TKO (punches) Pancrase 297

Tokyo, Japan Win

Junior Maranhão Decision (unanimous) Cage 42

Helsinki, Finland Win

Tetsuya Yamada Decision (unanimous) Cage 38

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Felipe Silva TKO (punches) Cage 35

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Thibault Gouti KO (punch) Cage 33

Helsinki, Finland Win

Eric Reynolds Decision (unanimous) Cage 31

Helsinki, Finland Win

Sean Carter Decision (unanimous) Cage 30

Helsinki, Finland Win

Sergej Grecicho Decision (unanimous) Cage 29

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Dakota Cochrane KO (flying knee) Fight Night Finland: Cochrane vs Kuivanen

Helsinki, Finland Win

Oriol Gaset TKO (knee to the body) Grand Combat Entertainment: Seven Virtues of Bushido

Salo, Finland Win

Diego Gonzalez KO (punches) Superior Challenge 9

Gothenburg, Sweden Loss

Eric Reynolds KO (punches) Cage 23

Vantaa, Finland Win

Jason Pierce Decision (unanimous) Cage 22

Vantaa, Finland Loss

Michael Chiesa Submission (rear naked choke) UFC 157

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Mitch Clarke Decision (split) UFC 149

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Loss

Justin Salas Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger

Omaha, Nebraska, United States Win

Thiago Meller Decision (unanimous) Cage 16 - 1st Defense

Espoo, Finland Win

Ivan Buchinger Decision (unanimous) Cage 15 - Powered by Reezig

Espoo, Finland Win

Ryan Bixler Submission (rear naked choke) FF 29 - Fight Festival 29

Helsinki, Finland Win

Tim Radcliffe TKO (injury) Cage 14 - All Stars

Espoo, Finland Win

Raymond Jarman TKO (knee to the body) Cage 13 - Spring Break

Vantaa, Finland Win

Erikas Petraitis Decision (unanimous) FF 26 - Fight Festival 26

Helsinki, Finland Win

Yunus Evloev Submission (armbar) Lappeenranta Fight Night 3

Lappeenranta, Finland Win

Alexandre Abin TKO (punches) FF 25 - Fight Festival 25

Helsinki, Finland Win

Owen Hartwig Submission (armbar) AF 2 - Arctic Fights 2

Rovaniemi, Finland Loss

Bendy Casimir Submission (kneebar) HC 2 - Hell Cage 2

Prague, Czech Republic Win

Juris Karpenko Submission (armbar) FF 24 - Fight Festival 24

Helsinki, Finland Win

Vaclav Stastny Submission (armbar) CF 4 - Carelia Fight 4

Imatra, Finland Win

Sergei Kudrjashov Submission (arm triangle choke) The Cage Vol. 9 - Capital Concussion

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Sergej Juskevic TKO (punches) K-1 HERO's - HERO's Lithuania 2007

Vilnius, Lithuania Win

Takayuki Okochi TKO (punches) Shooto Estonia - Bushido

Tallinn, Estonia Loss

Marius Liaukevicius TKO (punches) K-1 - Hero's Lithuania

Vilnius, Lithuania Loss

Hiroki Kotani Submission (heel hook) Zst - Prestige

Turku, Finland Win

Cole Lauritsen Decision (unanimous) CF 2 - Carelia Fight 2

Imatra, Finland Win

Martin Ahlberg Submission (guillotine choke) The Cage Vol. 6 - Balls to the Wall

Helsinki, Finland Win

Sergey Denisov Submission (rear naked choke) EKH - MMA Action

Espoo, Finland