Introduction
Friday, June 5th, Swedish bantamweight prospect Smilla Sundell will be in action for the Tuff-n-Uff, where she will be looking continue her new journey in MMA against Maya Stewart. She will be looking for another win, as Sundell looks to inch closer to a UFC contract. She represents Fairtex Gym and Diaz Combat Sports, a respected and lesser-known camp (respectively) in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Muay Thai and Size: There isn’t much surprise about Sundell’s strength, as she’s a world Muay Thai champion, including in the ONE Championship organization. She did so before the age of 21 (she’s 21 now), showing she’s a real prodigy in the striking arts. She scored Thai wins over such famous, top-notch fighters such as Jackie Buntan, Allycia Rodrigues and Natalya Dyachkova. She has outstanding kicks, punches and clinch all while using her 5’10” frame well. She’s very good at managing distance, though she can certainly fight from in close given her top-notch clinch ability. There aren’t many fighters she will take on in pro MMA that have the striking she possesses.
Needs Improvement
MMA Experience: We still have questions about Sundell’s all-around MMA game given she’s just gotten into the game, crossing over from pro striking. Her only MMA fight was against 2-6 Miranda Barber, so it’s not as if she jumped right in the deep end (and rightfully so). We don’t have a complete view into where her ground game or offensive/defensive wrestling ability is. The women’s bantamweight division is not exactly the most stacked division, but as she moves up the talent ladder, she’s going to have those abilities tested and really get a gauge of where she’s at. Luckily, as mentioned, she’s only 21 years old, so she has plenty of time to develop.
Outlook
Future UFC or PFL Contender: As stated, the women’s bantamweight division is pretty abysmal in terms of top-level talent and shallow in overall talent. Sundell is truly special on the feet and if she develops a good counter-wrestling game to keep the fight upright, she’s going to be a very dangerous opponent in the major leagues (UFC or PFL). Given that she has the exciting striking game, she’s obviously auditioning for one of those two major league MMA organizations with these set up fights. That said, her current opponent is Maya Stewart and she’s no pushover, especially for Sundell who has just one pro MMA fight. This fight should really give us an insight into Sundell’s immediate MMA value.
MMA Intel 