Länsberg is the former world champion in Thai boxing, but the Swedes' leading feature is now set against the American wrestling that holds the highest level.

McMann took the Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and a few years later chose to change sports to MMA, where she challenged, among other things, the UFC champion belt. McMann has met big stars like Amanda Nunes, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, but lost to all three.

- Sara McMann is a coward who has been with MMA for a long time in the world top and has been a top athlete in her entire life. This will be my most important match so far, says Länsberg on the phone from Raleigh, North Carolina where the match is decided the night against Sunday, Swedish time.

"Will never catch up"

Wrestling is perhaps the most important foundation in MMA and Länsberg has trained hard to meet the opponent's excellence.

- No matter how much you train, you will not catch her wrestling ability. But of course I have looked at what movements she often makes and tried to adapt to me, says Länsberg.

- I know she has a broad repertoire, but it's about being able to bigger her as much as possible and threatening her before she takes the match to where she is comfortable.

Admires the opponent's decision

Something that speaks for "Elbow Queen" Länsberg is that Sara McMann has not played a match since February 2018. The reason for the absence is that she became a mother.

- She never put the gloves on the shelf but was very clear from the beginning that she was pregnant, but that she would definitely continue to be swept. I really admire that and it's something that has made a difference for me when I think about my own future, says the Swedish and develops:

- This shows that you do not have to choose between an elite sports career and being a mother. You can do both and. The world has been pretty comfortable with women being moms and not so much more, which is why I admire Sara for proving the opposite.

Can reach the top ten in the world

2019 was Länsberg's best year in his career with two heavy victories. The first in front of a boiling Globe this summer, the second in Copenhagen in September felt at least as much as the home plan for the coward who lives and trains in Malmö.

A win this weekend would make the Swede - currently ranked 11th in the world in bantamweight (61.2 kilos) - settle into the top ten of the world ranking. McMann currently has tenth place.

- To settle in the top ten had been good, that's something I strive for. There are many well-known top names where now it had been proof that they had actually succeeded.

CLICK: Here the UFC star bursts the SVT reporter's ribs (July 18)

The browser is not supported

SVT does not support playback in your browser. We therefore recommend that you switch to another browser.

Learn more about browser support

Javascript is turned off

Javascript must be turned on to play video

Learn more about browser support

Here, the UFC star bursts the SVT reporter's ribs