Anton Turkalj, a graduate of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, made his much-anticipated debut in the season premiere of Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 on July 26. The Swede was expected to compete at last year’s competition. However, problems with his visa prevented him from achieving his goals.
After a year had passed, Turkalj finally returned to the ring to face Acácio dos Santos of Brazil in a light heavyweight match in Las Vegas. This fight was Turkalj’s first fight in over a year. In his previous fight, held at BRAVE CF 50 in April of last year, he won with a thirteen second spinning back fist knockout.
The four-time IMMAF medalist trained with Khamzat Chimaev and Alexander Gustafsson, both UFC contenders, to prepare for the competition.
Who is Anton Turkalj?
Anton Turkalj, who is now 26, displayed flamboyant shots and had some hitting success, but it was his grappling that gave him the advantage in the match. Over the course of three rounds, he managed nine takedowns, leveraged his dominant position by threatening submission attempts, and threw the occasional shot.
Joseph Pyfer received the only contract for the event from Dana White, head of the UFC. White was dissatisfied. Turkish, who followed the action from the bench for almost a year and a half and patiently waited his turn, was overjoyed to finally be able to take part again.
Although he hasn’t finalized a deal with the UFC, Turkish could feature in a promotion in the near future if circumstances are favourable. If he were to sign the contract, he would be following in the footsteps of a host of other former IMMAF athletes currently making headlines in the UFC. The next IMMAF graduate to fight in the Contender Series is Viktoriya Dudakova, who won the gold for Europe without losing a single match. She will face Maria Silva in the competition in the episode of the series, which airs August 30.
Due to the fact that Turkish had never been defeated in Hibeen’s professional career prior to their Contender Series fight, Turkish went into the fight as the favorite. The TMMA representative was also very successful as an amateur in her respective sport. He has been awarded a medal at every competition he has entered, including the gold medal for Europe in 2017.
The lights go out for Anton Turkalj at UFC 279
Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj will face Jailton Almeida in a catchweight bout on Saturday night at UFC 279, which will be held at a weight of 222 pounds. The 26-year-old Swede will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in this fight after accepting the match at short notice to fill in for Shamil Abdurakhimov.
His last fight was at Dana White’s Contender Series, where he was fighting for a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Despite not yet having a contract with the UFC at the time of the fight, he prevailed and defeated Acacio dos Santos in a dominant unanimous decision win. Within the next week, however, “The Pleasure Man” will have the chance to compete in the octagon for the first time.
Prior to his participation in the Contender Series, Turkish has already fought in three consecutive bouts in Brave CF. In April 2021, he made history when he knocked out Konstantin Soldierov in under 13 seconds with a spectacular spin-back shot. This win put him in the record books.
The spectacular knockout was the organization’s quickest finish ever, and “Pleasure Man” later claimed he thought the type of finish broke his hand. The goal was the organization’s fastest goal ever.
Armature fighter Anton Turkalj has received numerous awards
The grappling demonstration match, held at AK Fighting Championship 3 in December 2019, saw the Turkish competitor take on Swedish UFC icon Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson. Although he lost the fight, he looks back on it with fondness.
“It was an amazing experience that at times felt unreal and difficult to put into words. He is helpful and was like a guide to me; He’s watching over me. He is accommodating. I’ve also done a few workouts with him. After the battle, Turkalj Aftonbladet gave the following interview: “Alex was the pioneer and we represent the generation that came after him.
In his mixed martial arts (MMA) career as an amateur, Anton Turkalj won two gold medals at the Swedish Championships, one gold medal, one silver medal, one bronze medal and one bronze medal at the World Championships.
UFC 279 includes the highly anticipated welterweight main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz and the welterweight co-main event between Tony Ferguson and Li Jingliang. Both fights will be welterweight. Also on the menu is the thrilling match between Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodri.
Background information and early life of Anton Turkalj
According to Sherdog, Anton Turkalj competed in his first mixed martial arts fight while he was still an amateur. At the fourth episode of the Battle of Copenhagen, which took place on October 3, 2015, he participated in his first amateur fight. He was cornered into yielding, which worked in his favour.
He then went on to win nine straight fights as an amateur boxer, posting a record of 10-0-0 through June 15, 2017. Imad Hayek from Lebanon was his opponent during the IMMAF event which took place in June November 2017. A judge eventually ruled against him but the vote was close.
After suffering his first loss as an amateur, he went on a two-fight winning streak before losing to Pavel Pahomenko on November 16, 2017 at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation. He was defeated twice during his time in MMA against an amateur just now. He then won four more straight amateur fights before losing his fifth and final fight to Murtaza.
When did Anton Turkalj debut as a professional mixed martial artist?
According to Sherdog, Anton Turkalj made his professional debut in 2018. At RXF MMA 33 on December 10, 2018, he faced Marius Pislariu in his first professional fight, which he attended for the first time. He won the match by KO, in accordance with the rules. After that, he never looked back and continued to be victorious in battle.
In 2019 he got three wins, in 2020 and 2021 two wins each. He was then offered the opportunity to compete in Dana White’s Contender Series for his great professional mixed martial arts (MMA) exploits.
Anton Turkalj competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) at the amateur level before making his professional MMA debut. He competed in amateur mixed martial arts competitions hosted by the IMMAF, the SMMAF and the Battle of Copenhagen, among others.
The estimated value of Anton Turkalj in 2022
It is not known how much fortune Anton Turkalj amassed. However, according to the newbie support site, his net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million despite being a UFC fighter.
At the age of 26, Swedish fighter Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj holds an unbeaten record in professional mixed martial arts competition. The catchweight competition between the Turkish fighter and Jailton Almeida is scheduled to take place on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279. The catchweight competition will take place on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279 and Jailton Almeida will be one of the participants.
Anton Turkalj has ended five of his eight fights by knockout, two by submission and one by decision, giving him an 88% completion rate in his eight wins.
FIGHTER DETAILS
- Name: Anton Turkalj
- Per MMA record: 8-0-0 (win-loss-tie)
- Nickname: The Pleasure Man
- Current streak: 8 wins
- Age: 26 | Date of Birth: 1996-06-10
- Last fight: July 26, 2022 in DWCS
- Weight class: light heavyweight | Last Weigh: 214.0 lbs
- Affiliation: GBG MMA
- Height: 6’4″ (193cm) | Reach: 78.0″ (198cm)
- Disclosed Career Earnings: $0
- Born: Sweden
- Battles from: Gothenburg, Sweden
- Head coach: Joakim Engberg
- Other Trainers: N/A
- WORLD RANKING #70
Despite not earning a UFC contract, Anton Turkalj won the Contender Series and is still undefeated
On July 26th, Dana White’s 2022 Contender Series season premiered and IMMAF graduate Anton Turkalj made his much-anticipated debut. Actually, the Swede should have taken part in the competition last year. But his ambitions were derailed by visa complications.
A year later, Turkalj traveled to Las Vegas to fight Brazilian Acácio dos Santos in a light heavyweight match, breaking more than a year of inactivity. At BRAVE CF 50 last April, he won his previous fight with a 13-second spinning backfist knockout.
In preparation for the competition, the four-time IMMAF medalist trained alongside Khamzat Chimaev and Alexander Gustafsson, two UFC contenders.
Turkalj went into his Contender Series match as a favorite because he had never lost in his pro career. The GBG MMA representative has also had a lot of success as an amateur. He received a medal in every competition he entered, including a gold medal for Europe in 2017.
Turkalj did well in the grappling section, but the performance fell short of his expectations. In his previous seven bouts, The Pleasure Man had eliminated every opponent, but dos Santos forced him to dig deep and ended up going the full three rounds.
The 26-year-old made a few attempts at flashy shots and had some hitting success, but his grappling gave him the advantage. Over the course of three rounds, he hit nine takedowns, used his advantageous position by threatening submission attempts, and threw in a few shots on occasion.
Dana White, the head of the UFC, was unimpressed and gave Joseph Pyfer the event’s only contract. Turkalj, who had patiently awaited his chance and watched from the touchline for almost 14 months, was nonetheless happy to be back.
Turkalj could still show up in a promotion soon, despite not landing a UFC deal, if the right situation arises. If he were to sign a contract, he would join the plethora of former IMMAF athletes currently making headlines in the UFC. Another undefeated European Gold Champion, Viktoriya Dudakova, is the next IMMAF graduate scheduled to compete in the Contender Series. In the episode of the series, which will air on August 30, she will face off against Maria Silva.