Anton Kuivanen was born in Pärnu, ESSR Estonia, which is a town in modern-day 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. 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, boxing and wrestling before becoming interested in mixed martial arts.
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. 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. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kuivanen fought Mitch Clarke on July 21, 2012 at. 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.
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, who called Kuivanen out after Kuivanen's fight. On July 1, 2018, Kuivanen faced the then-reigning lightweight King of PancraseTakasuke 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. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.
Coaching career
Having graduated as a certified sports coach from Pajulahti Sports Institute, 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.
