This Saturday, September 19th, a big WMMA bout is happening that many people don’t even know about. In Turku, Finland, Ice Cage Fighting is hosting a solid card. In the main event, former UFC fighter Andre Fialho faces prospect Brayan Aspegren for the middleweight title. All eyes go to the co-main, which is also a title fight: Sani Brännfors vs. Millie Eriksson. Both of these ladies fought twice as amateurs and went 1-1. The trilogy comes in the pros, so who takes it? Read below, and I’m gonna give my best guess
Brännfors is a legit bantamweight prospect despite being undersized. If she joined the UFC roster today, at 5’2″, she’d join Vanessa Demopoulos as one of the smallest fighters in the division. She hasn’t let her size hinder her career, though, as she fought at bantamweight throughout her amateur run and has the accolades to match. Brännfors is a three-time IMMAF World Champion and the first woman in IMMAF history to win Youth, Junior, and Senior World titles. She went 16-1 as an amateur and is currently 3-0 as a pro.
I do question how Brännfors would fare at range against a technical striker who knows how to use footwork. She does move her head, but it’s usually while she’s throwing or going first. At range, her shoulders are squared, which can cause her to reach on her punches and leave her open to straight shots down the middle. She’s much better moving forward, dipping her head off to the side and fighting at close range.
As an amateur, Brännfors had a habit of throwing mainly from her right side. She’s improved there, doing a better job using her lead left hook and jab before following with the right hand. She makes the most of her striking opportunities, throwing a nice one-two along with a sneaky right kick to the body and head. She’ll also mix in knees and elbows from the clinch, which I’d like to see her use even more.
What really opens up her striking is the takedown threat. Brännfors uses hard level-change feints to set up her combinations. She’ll feint the shot, throw a combination, and then commit to the takedown. At her size, the timing has to be near perfect. She can shoot too soon at times, but she has good drive and can chain wrestle when the first attempt isn’t there. Her smaller frame also has benefits, letting her get underneath opponents and attack the hips and legs. She’s shown the strength to lift opponents and plant them on the mat.
Size can become an issue in grappling, but so far it hasn’t been a problem for Brännfors. She’s active on top, constantly passing guard and looking to advance into dominant positions. She doesn’t have a submission as a pro yet, but she’s always a threat to attack the neck. Her bigger weapon has been the ground-and-pound. Now that she’s allowed to use elbows as a pro, she’s taken full advantage of them. She recently beat the shit out of Justine Kish with heavy ground-and-pound and did the same to the poor girl she fought in her pro debut.
I’ve been especially impressed with Brännfors’ ability to move on top and immediately jump on positions. Even more impressive is her ability to solidify those positions despite taking risks in transition. Brännfors is only 21, so the sky is the limit for her.
Eriksson didn’t have the same amateur success as Brännfors, going 7-8, but she did pick up some good wins, including one over UFC fighter Nina Nikolija Milosevic. Her professional career has been much better. She’s currently 4-0 and has beaten some good, experienced fighters along the way.
Eriksson was a pure Thai boxer when she came into MMA, but she’s slowly found her feet and become a much more complete fighter. You’ll even see the Swede mix in takedowns and score significant top time. She’s nowhere near a good traditional wrestler, but she’s effective in the clinch. She has useful trips, strong hips, and does a good job hitting the whizzer and defending takedowns.
Against Kate Bacik, Eriksson wasn’t afraid to grapple with her. She won a lot of those moments, but she also repeatedly had to defend submissions, which raises questions about her fight IQ. Eriksson is undoubtedly a better striker, and that’s where she should lean heavily.
She’s a good athlete who constantly moves laterally while flicking out the jab. I’d like to see her put more umph behind her punches, though. She leans more toward scoring than causing damage, with the damage usually coming from an accumulation of shots. Her best moments come in the clinch, where she has nasty Thai knees and a strong Muay Thai plum.
I do worry about Eriksson losing close decisions in the future because she can have fewer significant moments in a fight. Her positional and cage awareness are concerns, too. Outside of those issues, Eriksson is a good talent who, with continued growth, should develop into a quality fighter.
Fight Prediction
This will be the third time Brännfors and Eriksson have fought, but their first meeting as professionals. They fought twice as amateurs and went 1-1. After watching those fights, I really like the idea of a trilogy.
Brännfors won their first fight by decision. It was a super tight fight that I actually scored for Eriksson. Eriksson won the rematch by third-round TKO in what I thought was a premature stoppage. Those fights happened almost four years ago, though, and both girls have improved a lot since then.
The pro ranks also change the matchup. They’re now allowed to use elbows and will be fighting five-minute rounds. On the feet, Eriksson has the style to pick Brännfors apart from range. She has the jab and straight punches to exploit Brännfors’ defensive flaws. However, I think Brännfors does a better job fighting in her preferred striking lane than Eriksson does in hers.
If Eriksson focuses more on touching and moving, I like Brännfors to use her feints to close the distance and land her own shots. Brännfors arguably throws the heavier punches, and she definitely throws more volume and mixes up her offense better.
In their amateur fights, Brännfors had trouble getting Eriksson down. Eriksson did the right things, fighting for underhooks and widening her frame to shut down the takedowns. The difference now is that Brännfors is much better at setting up her shots and chaining her wrestling together. With more cage time and the extra time on the clock, I think she’ll eventually complete those takedowns.
I see Brännfors taking some damage from the jab early but pushing through it and having more success once she gets inside. As the fight goes on, I expect her to start completing takedowns and winning significant top time.
Prediction: Sani Brännfors by unanimous decision.
