Introduction
Friday, June 10th, Swedish strawweight prospect Josefine Knutsson will be in action at Road to UFC, where she will be looking to possibly score a UFC contract against Ye Seo Dam. She will be looking for another win, as Knutsson looks to continue her undefeated streak as a professional MMA fighter. She represents Allstars Training Center, a respected camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Muay Thai: Knutsson’s base is in Muay Thai, which is obvious given the way she fights. She has an extensive pro kickboxing background, meaning that most of the women she steps in the cage with will be at a striking disadvantage. She has solid power in everything she throws, especially her hands. She also has whipping leg kicks and is strong in the clinch with her knees/elbows. She puts together combinations well, which helps her rack up the points and accumulate damage. In her latest win over TUF veteran Lanchana Green, Knutsson really showed how technical and nasty she can be against a big-show veteran.
Athleticism: In terms of natural gifts, Knutsson is obviously a good athlete and those intangibles lend her well in the cage. She has good speed and movement. She can be explosive. She is very balanced on the feet and can close distance well. Many of the ladies she steps across the cage from will have a disadvantage when it comes to natural athleticism when taking on Knutsson.
Needs Improvement
Experience/Ground Question Marks: Knutsson’s extensive pro kickboxing background certainly lends her well in the experience department, but in terms of MMA, she has just three pro fights and one amateur fight. Moving up to the next level this early in her career may be tough, despite the fact she’s looked outstanding thus far. Also, her ground game remains a question mark as we’ve yet to see much of it. There’s a chance she’s competent on the ground, but in the chance she takes on a good wrestler at some point, we don’t know how she’ll be able to handle the elite takedown ability of one of those opponents.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder-to-top-15: Knutsson being so young in her MMA career makes it a little more difficult to project where she will end up at her peak, but from what I can see, she has the skills to make it over to the UFC. In her first three fights, she has taken on fighters that are more experienced in pro MMA than she. They have a combined record of 11-6-2, which is astronomically more fights than her current three. Her high-level striking lends well in the women’s side of MMA, which is far less developed than men’s MMA in terms of well-rounded fighters. She will make it to the UFC at some point and stay there for a while. She could eventually be top-15/10, but at the very least she will be a midcarder, which is nothing to be ashamed of.
MMA Intel 