Josefine Knutsson has a clear plan for her fighting career. Since getting started in combat sports as a kickboxer in 2015, the 27-year-old Allstars Training Center product has been surrounded by some of Sweden’s best MMA fighters.
Starting with striking arts, Knutsson’s exposure to Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi, and Khamzat Chimaev aided her natural progression, and he entered MMA as an amateur in mid-2020.
Prior to making the jump to MMA, Knutsson had a successful run in the K-1 Japan kickboxing organization, and competed in their Grand Prix tournaments in 2018 and 2019.
Knutsson (4-0) most recently won a one-off fight against Seo Ye Dam in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) recent Road to UFC tournament event series. While she wasn’t signed to the promotion after the win, “Thunder” knows it’s a foregone conclusion.
Josefine Knutsson kicks off episode 3 with the UD victory!
[ #RoadToUFC is LIVE on @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/qUBx4Xn68S
— UFC (@ufc) June 10, 2022
“I want to go to the UFC,” Knutsson told MMA Mania. “That’s been my goal since day No. 1 when I started with MMA. UFC is where I’m going, and I’m going to fulfil my dreams. I’m going there. It’s no question about it. Just a matter of time and a matter of fights.”
“I see every fight as an opportunity, but I can’t speak for them,” she continued. “If they like what they see, they like what they see. I have to think fight-by-fight.”
Knutsson does her fair share of research on her fellow Strawweights despite not being a big MMA fan on a weekly basis. If everything goes as planned, she’ll be able to call some of her idols her rivals.
“Rose [Namajunas], I love her style,” Knutsson said. “She has a really complex game in MMA. I always love to watch her fight. [Zhang] Weili, she’s more like a panther-fighter. Different styles, but of course, I see some of the girls in my division. I check them out all the time.”
“I look up to them, but at the same time, I see them as my rivals in the future,” she concluded.