Introduction
Wednesday, January 12th, American flyweight prospect Claire Guthrie will be in action for Invicta, where she will be looking to score a victory against Lauren Mueller. She will be looking for another win, as Guthrie looks to build her resume for an eventual UFC contract. She represents Elevation Fight Team, an solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Grinding Wrestling: Guthrie is definitely a blue collar, take your lunch pale to work type of fighter. She’s a grinder with a top-heavy grappling game. She likes to close the distance on the feet and shoot takedowns on her opponents. She achieves those takedowns and ends up in top position often. Once there, she’s very heavy and holds her opponents down. She has solid ground-and-pound and is positionally sound. She also does have some submission ability, though we haven’t seen that since her pro debut in 2019. She’s definitely most comfortable on the ground and looks to get there from the get-go.
Conditioning: In addition to her excellent grinding ability on the mat, Guthrie is also in excellent shape and can go hard for as long as the fight is. I’m sure some of that is from training at elevation in Colorado, but you can tell she works hard in the gym. She will keep up the pressure from the first second of the fight and not take her foot off the gas til the final bell rings. Combine that with her athleticism and you have yourself a fine-tuned machine.
Needs Improvement
More Diverse Striking: Guthrie’s striking isn’t bad, but it’s very basic. She often times is caught throwing single strikes and not being the most aggressive. It can make her a tad robotic. She’s also not super diverse. Simple combinations are her go-to on the feet. Sometimes her head stays on the line for too long, and against a good striker, they could find a home landing to the head of Guthrie. She could also have some better movement, including staying on her toes and having more creative footwork.
Decisions!: Guthrie’s pro MMA career has seen her go to decision in three of her four career bouts. That includes her lone loss and her most two recent wins. She needs to be a proven finisher, especially if she wants consideration from the big leagues.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Guthrie is skilled and has a good camp in her corner, so I have no doubt she will eventually make it to the UFC’s roster. That’s especially considering the fact that the UFC has a season of TUF coming up in her weight class. A win here could get her a spot on the cast. That being said, she’s still relatively inexperienced as a pro and could have a little more “oomf” in her game. Her style is effective but not always the most entertaining, which could hold her back with a guy with the taste of Dana White. She will continue to improve and take on tougher opposition to prove she belongs, and it all starts with her current opponent, UFC vet Lauren Mueller.
MMA Intel 