UFC women’s bantamweight Julie Kedzie yesterday announced that she is taking over the matchmaker role for Invicta FC, the all-women’s MMA promotion. The organization confirmed the news in a press release yesterday, and Kedzie is expected to start working her new position immediately. This news is interesting to me, and while the majority of the MMA world seems to think this is a wonderful idea, I actually think there are both pros and cons to this decision. As far as pros go, obviously Kedzie is a pioneer of women’s MMA and knows the sport of mixed martial arts perhaps better than anyone. A long-time veteran of the sport, Kedzie started fighting in MMA before it was cool for women to compete in the sport, and after nearly a decade of pro fights, she finally made it to the UFC this year, although she lost both of her fights in the Octagon. So I realize that Kedzie does indeed know the sport well, and I know that she has a great relationship with Invicta FC owner Shannon Knapp, as well as a number of the female fighters in the sport. The problem is, Kedzie has absolutely no previous experience matchmaking MMA fights. I’m not say she can’t learn on the fly, because Kedzie definitely seems like a smart person, especially when it comes to MMA. But for Invicta to go from a incredible matchmaker in Janet Martin (who was outed from the promotion a few months ago), to Knapp (who did all the matchmaking for the last Invicta card), to Kedzie (who has no experience in the field whatsoever), I’m a tad worried. I think that, even though she will likely get a long leash from Invicta, the fans and media are going to be hounding her if she fails to produce the quality, exciting fights that Invicta FC has become known for, and I feel like the next Invicta card is going to be a big test to see just what she can do. Remember, Invicta recently lost 11 of its best strawweight fighters to the UFC, and now Kedzie is going to be responsible for building a brand-new 115 lb division. Before someone jumps in here and says that I’m being too harsh towards Kedzie, let me just say that I actually like her, I think she was a very good fighter and I think she has a tremendous brain for the sport. But as someone who has seen and loved every Invicta FC event thus far, I’m just worried we as fans might be in for a sort of learning period with Kedzie as the new matchmaker, and honestly, since Invicta is a pay-per-view product, that does concern me a bit, since if I’m paying for the show I hope we get the best show possible. Hopefully Kedzie can show the world that she is a tremendous matchmaker and a natural at the job, but until her first batch of matchups and fighter signings are announced, that remains to be seen.
