For those who aren't entirely familiar to "The Elbow Princess".
There's also a nice video interview with her in the source site.
There's also a nice video interview with her in the source site.
SourceLina Lansberg is positive it's going to be different this time, that she’s not going to end up like all the rest. But saying you can beat Cristiane Justino is one thing. Actually doing it? Well that proven to be nearly impossible.
Lansberg (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will have her chance to slow down the Justino (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) freight train on Sept. 24 when she headlines UFC Fight Night 95 at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil. The 140-pound catchweight bout tops the FS1-televised lineup following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
“Cyborg” enters the contest on a 17-fight unbeaten streak with the past 15 of those victories coming by knockout (nine in the first round). She’s the most dominant force in women’s MMA history and hasn’t lost since her pro debut in May 2005. That’s an impressive resume, but one Landsberg said she’s not intimidated by, even in her UFC debut.
“It’s tough for them to find opponents for Cris, and I’ve had a lot of standup fights before, so I do understand why they chose me,” Landberg told MMAjunkie. “Of course I was familiar with her. I know some of the others as well, but I have been following her for years in muay Thai and in MMA. I know her well.
“Definitely she beats opponents before they get in the cage. When she gets in there, and you see it in her last fight against (Leslie) Smith. You saw it from the start that she was beat waking to the cage. It’s definitely the biggest reason to why she wins all the time.”
So what makes Lansberg different? Nearly every fighter who’s stepped in the cage with Justino has believed they brought something unique to the table that could lead to the win. For Landsberg, she said it’s a combination of traits, including her ability to out-strike Justino.
“I’ve been fighting muay Thai for so many years now,” Lansberg said. “I have 85 or 90 fights, many of them in the European and world championships. I’ve fought against (Valentina) Shevchenko, who is fighting in the UFC now. I fought her in the finals of a world championship match. I’ve done it for many years, and I’ve won several gold medals in the European championship and the world championship.
“I’ve been preparing for something like this for a long time. I’ve been traveling the world to fight before, and it’s a lot of pressure, but it’s the way I want it to be. That’s the fun part as well. The bigger, the better.”
When UFC officials announced Landsberg vs. Justino, skepticism soon followed. Justino made a successful octagon debut at UFC 198 in May, when she steamrolled Smith via 81-second TKO and said she’s interested in facing the likes of Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. Lansberg, meanwhile, has never fought for the UFC or even faced an opponent in MMA who’s competed in the organization.
Still, Landsberg likes her odds. On top of having a striking background, the Swede said she brings something to the table that Justino’s previous foes have severely lacked: mental toughness.
“Everything is mental 100 percent,” Lansberg said. “It’s a mental game. The technique and the physics is just a small part of it. It’s the mental gave that’s most important. I’m comfortable with that, and I work a lot mentally right now, as well, and I have for quite a while with my coach and with a psychologist. It’s a mental game.
“I’m lucky I’m not Cris in this actually because I know the feeling when you go into a fight and you have everything to lose and nothing to win really. I wouldn’t like to be her in this fight. It’s much better to be me to be the underdog and have everything to win.”
Lansberg said she expects a standup fight with Justino at UFC Fight Night 95, but she’s also prepared to grapple if it goes to the mat. Nicknamed “Elbow Princess,” Lansberg unsurprisingly enjoys fighting from the clinch and landing elbows, which have a tendency to cause cuts.
That’s one of the ways she plans to attack and slow down her opponent, she said.
“I love elbows,” Lansberg said. “They make everybody bleed so much, and I love that. It will be so much fun. She’s tough, and she’s going to bleed a lot. That’s why I do it. I’m going to enjoy it, and we’re going to have a good time, me and Cris.”
Just like Justino, the only loss of Lansberg’s MMA career came in her first pro fight, and she’s been perfect since. Her greatest moments are still on the horizon, she said, and if she beats “Cyborg,” she plans to join the elite of the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Lansberg said she’s knows doubters exist (and understandable so), but she’s not going to let the aura of Justino take away her confidence.
“This fight is absolutely a shortcut to the top, and it’s the best way possible,” Lansberg said. “She is beatable. She has beat many good names, but also a lot of names that weren’t that good, and she’s still human. A lot of people win all the time, but everybody is beatable.”