UFC
A closer look at Swedish UFC debutant Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj!
Swedish Anton Turkalj will make his UFC debut on September 10. Photo: Stefan Romare – Frontkick.online
On Saturday, Anton “The Pleasure Man” Turkalj will face Jailton Almeida in a 220-pound catchweight fight at UFC 279. The bout will mark the UFC debut for the 26-year-old Swedish prospect, who took the fight on short notice as he fills in for Shamil Abdurakhimov.
In his last outing, Turkalj fought for a UFC contract at Dana White’s Contender Series. Even though he controlled the fight and defeated Acacio dos Santos via a solid unanimous decision, he did not earn a UFC contract at that point. However, in just four days it’s finally time for the “The Pleasure Man” to enter the octagon.
Read more: Updated news about UFC’s long-awaited return to Sweden!
Historic spinning backfist KO
Before the Contender Series, Turkalj fought three straight fights in Brave CF. In April 2021, he became historic with a crazy spinning backfist that knocked out Konstantin Soldatov in just 13 seconds. The spectacular KO was the organization’s fastest finish ever, and afterwards “Pleasure Man” said that he thought he broke his hand with the finish technique.
“It was so fucking hard, you know, I thought I broke my arm at first. It was really hard, and at that moment I knew I would knock him out because it was on his cheek,” Turkalj said in an interview.
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The Swede’s professional debut almost ended as quickly as the record-setting knockout at BRAVE CF. Just 32 seconds into the first round, he finished Marius Pislaru with a TKO.
All in all, the Scandinavian powerhouse has a professional record of 8-0, with no less than seven stoppage wins. That’s an impressive 87,5 % finishing rate!
Check out Anton Turkalj’s flawless professional record below!
- Def. Acácio dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Def. Konstantin Soldatov KO (Spinning back fist)
- Def. Ibo Aslan via Submission (RNC)
- Def. Athanasios Herkeletzis via TKO (Punches and elbows)
- Def. Felix Polianidis TKO (Punches)
- Def. Yulian Borisov via Submission (RNC)
- Def. Filip Vujič KO (Punches)
- Def. Marius Pislaru TKO (Punches)
Read more: UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz – Full Fight Card, Start Time & How to Watch
Anton Turkalj was a decorated amatuer fighter
Photo by Stefan Romare / Frontkick.online
In December 2019, Turkalj fought Swedish UFC legend Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson in an exhibition grappling bout at AK Fighting Championship 3. A fight he lost but still has fond memories of.
“It felt unreal and it’s hard to describe, it was a big honor. I’ve trained with him as well, he is very helpful and has been like a mentor to me, he takes care of me. Alex was first and we are the next generation,” Turkalj told Aftonbladet after the fight.
As a amatuer MMA fighter, Anton Turkalj claimed international success with two Swedish Championship gold medals, one European Championship gold medal and one silver medal, as well as a World Cup bronze medal.
Read more: ”Too small money at Swedish local fight events – Now it’s time for a change!”
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