Changing Course

---

It is not just Kedzie’s absence that is breaking hearts.

Over the years, Kedzie’s dog, a golden chow-Labrador retriever-Rhodesian ridgeback mix named Bailey, had essentially become the gym’s unofficial mascot. Amid a high-intensity atmosphere fostered by a collection of alpha personalities, the chance to give a head scratch or belly rub to an affable canine provided much-needed levity. In many ways, Bailey was an extension of Kedzie.

“I think everybody misses Bailey,” Jackson said. “Any time that I’d be yelling at somebody, she’d come and put her paw on me, like, ‘It’s OK. It’s alright.’”

While Kedzie is still struggling to find a set of blinds to fit her living room window, Bailey has already settled in comfortably. Instead of soothing fighters, she is chasing squirrels. As happy as she was within the confines of Jackson-Wink MMA, it is a pretty good tradeoff for a dog. The adjustment for Kedzie is more challenging. She works out at a local MMA gym, but the focus is on fitness, not fighting. She has allowed herself to hit a heavy bag once since moving to Shawnee.

“It felt really good,” Kedzie said, “but I don’t want to slip into that, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight again’ [mentality].”

She is also working on establishing boundaries when it comes to answering texts and calls, because they come at all hours in this business. While Kedzie might have preferred living in a bigger city -- she contemplated moving to Austin, Texas, to be near her sister -- she ultimately decided that kind of distraction might prevent her from giving her all as a matchmaker. By being in close proximity to Knapp, Kedzie, who says she has “50 million files going” in her head, has a well-defined direction.

“Having her guidance, I have a clear vision of what I’m supposed to be doing in this capacity,” Kedzie said. “There’s fighters that need information right now, which means you have to be tied to your computer and your phone a lot.”

At her very core, Kedzie is a feminist. Even when she was an active competitor, she was intent on pushing the agenda of women’s MMA as a whole, not just furthering her own career. If she was not urging Kottenstette to add female fighters to the local Jackson’s MMA Series cards he promoted, she was serving as something of an unofficial mouthpiece for all females in the sport. If you wanted to talk women’s MMA, Kedzie was your go-to source. In that sense, the role of women’s matchmaker is perfect, but as she delves further into her new occupation, Kedzie the ambassador is going fade into the background. Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are now her peers. They do not do interviews; Kedzie will not, either.

“The fact that I decided not to do interviews and not talk about myself was a big thing for me because you know I love to talk,” she said. “I believe in this company and I believe in what they’re trying to do. I really believe in Shannon’s vision for it. It reminds me of when I first started fighting, and I felt like everything was stacked against me.”

Kedzie’s debut as matchmaker coincides with Invicta’s debut on UFC Fight Pass, so the odds have drastically improved since she stared across the cage at Carano during that Showtime broadcast. According to Knapp, who has prior experience in the field, one of the greatest challenges for Kedzie now will be adopting a new philosophy.

“One of the things is getting out of the athlete mindset, finding that balance between being on the business side of it and still staying connected to your athletes,” Knapp said. “I think it’s going to be finding the balance. She’s already physically tough, but she’s such a nice person. Sometimes you have to stick that other hat on. Let’s face it, people will try to push you -- it’s human nature. They’re going to push you if they think there’s an inch to push you. She wants to do a great job; that’s half the battle right there. She loves the sport, she loves Invicta and she loves what we’re trying to do. That passion is what will make you good at what you do.”

That passion initially became evident when Kedzie used to fly in early for events while working as a commentator. She wanted time to talk to the athletes, to get a feel for their stories, their motivation, their style. Kedzie might not have known it at the time, but she was already preparing for the next step. Kedzie will remain in the Invicta booth on Saturday despite the extra scrutiny that inevitably comes along with being the person who arranged the chess pieces on the board. She loves the job too much to give it up, and she has Knapp’s approval, as well.

“For us, we get the best of both worlds,” Knapp said. “We get a commentator that when she’s talking about these fights she has all the knowledge of why this fight is happening. I think it’s going to give her perspective, and it is one that is going to be appreciated by people.”

If for some reason a fight turns out to be less than stellar, well, Kedzie can relate.

“Believe me, I have been guilty of many a boring fight,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve been bored during my own fights. Any mistake that’s been made in the sport, I’ve made it.”

As driven as Kedzie is, she still finds time to contemplate different avenues. On these occasions when her mind roams, she wonders if she should join the Peace Corps or Doctors Without Borders, or any other organization where she can help others. Jackson quips that she should sell vodka and then gets serious, suggesting Kedzie has the potential to eventually run an MMA organization on her own.

Perhaps most of all, Kedzie wants to be a mother, to have a family. It is an ideal that seems more daunting when there are boxes to unpack, emails to answer and fights to make. That is why looking too far ahead is not really in her best interest. Even if the future is not that clear, one thing is certain: Invicta’s latest event is on the immediate horizon and with it another chance to help further women’s MMA. It might not be the same as curing the Ebola virus in a third-world country, but Kedzie is making a difference in her own way. Right now, it seems pretty worthwhile.

“I was never the best fighter in the world, right? But the struggle to get there and learn everything -- I think the juice is worth the squeeze,” she said. “It was during my fighting career, even though I never made it to the championship level. It was worth it, and I want to make this worth it.”