Josefine Knutsson will fight in Tampa. Photo via UFC
On Saturday there’s time for the final UFC card of 2024 and it will be a special one for Swedish MMA fans. Two of Allstar Training Centers absolute best fighters – Felipe Lima and Josefine “Thunder” Knutsson – will compete in the prelims.
In a recent interview with Frontkick’s Ashah Tafari, Knutsson opened up on the fight against Piera Rodriguez, who trained a bit at Allstars a couple of years ago.
“It’s no big deal,” she said about facing a former training partner. “It’s the first time it has happened but it doesn’t mean much to me.”
Even though it’s only her third fight in the promotion, the undefeated Swedish prospect has her eyes set on the top of the strawweight division. She knows it will take time to reach the top, but building to those bigger opportunities only excites her more.
“There’s a lot of pressure but I love it,” Knutsson said. “My goal is to get that belt one day.”
The reigning strawweight champion Zhang Weili will face Tatianza Suarez in February. The Swede can’t wait to be in a position where she will be the one challenging the Chinese champion for the belt.
“It would have been a war,” Knutsson said with a big smile. “That’s a fight that I want more than anything in the future.”
UFC Tampa has a number of great matchups both on the main card and undercard. In the main event we will see three-time title challenger Colby Covington return against heavy-hitter Joaquin Buckley in a five-round welterweight bout.
The main card also features a featherweight matchup where veteran fan favorite Cub Swanson squares off with Billy Quarantillo. Check out the card below!
Main card
Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley, welterweight
Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo, featherweight
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva, flyweight
Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby, light heavyweight
Adrian Yanez vs. Daniel Marcos, bantamweight
Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos, light heavyweight
Prelims
Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar, lightweight
Joel Alvarez vs. Drakkar Klose, lightweight
Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla, featherweight
Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima, featherweight
Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth, women’s flyweight
Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras, bantamweight
Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez, women’s strawweight