MMAManian ennakko Kuivanen vs Clarke:
"155 lbs.: Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen
Another Canadian fighting in his home country, Mitch Clarke (9-1) has historically found success with his submission game, which has earned him six tapouts. In his UFC debut against John Cholish, however, he found himself completely outgunned in that department, getting back mounted, flattened out and stopped via strikes in the second round. Clarke has never fought outside of Canada and has only competed outside Alberta twice.
Anton Kuivanen (16-5), from Finland, entered the UFC on the heels of a nine-fight win streak to face American prospect Justin Salas. Over the course of three entertaining rounds, Kuivanen found himself unable to handle his foe’s wrestling prowess, dropping a unanimous decision. He is 12-2 over his last fourteen fights after starting his career 4-3 and trains out of American Top Team. Twelve of his wins have come by stoppage, eight of them submissions.
Honestly, despite the loss, I was quite impressed with Kuivanen in his debut. Despite Salas’ wrestling abilities, Kuivanen consistently found his way to his feet and showcased some nasty kicks while there. I have no doubt that his work at American Top Team will make him even better at staying out of bad positions.
Clarke, on the other hand, was completely outgunned against Cholish in pretty much every department and slowed down considerably in the second round. Kuivanen doesn’t have big power, but he is a very skilled striker with a solid ground game. Clarke is probably the better on the ground, true, but his wrestling pales in comparison to Salas’, and the latter had all kinds of trouble keeping down Kuivanen.
With the jitters out of the way, I expect we see a better Kuivanen, one whose sprawl should be more than sufficient to turn it into a striking affair, one he has a major advantage in. Kuivanen lights him up on the feet over the course of three painful rounds.
Prediction: Kuivanen via unanimous decision"