Monthly Archives: August 2013

Recent signee, Felice “Lil Bulldog” Herrig brings her outgoing and popular personality to the home of Women’s MMA; Invicta FC. No debut date has been set, but Herrig will look to make some noise in the Straweight division.

Considered by most to be an elite level striker, Herrig took some time to tell us how her career started, why she signed with Invicta, and why she loves her fans so much!

Corey Smith: You initially began your journey in martial arts via Muay Thai. How did that come about? What predicated the switch over to MMA?

Felice Herrig: I started with American style kickboxing. I went to a gym with my brother and took a class and within a week I was booked for my first ammy fight. I was hooked and I kept training and then the opportunity came to be on this reality show “Fight Girls.”

FH: It wasn’t until then that I actually did Muay Thai. After winning the show I did more Muay Thai fights, and then got a call from Chuck Norris’s WCL and I competed there for a bit. But again I was the smallest girl in the promotion so I was not only fighting much bigger girls but some serious bad asses too.

FH: I could see MMA was where everything was going so I knew I had to go that direction. Problem was I had already established myself as a high level pro in Muay Thai and kickboxing so I didn’t have the luxury of having an amateur career in MMA to learn the ropes.

FH: I was thrown in against pro MMA girls with grappling and BJJ backgrounds and basically learned through trail by fire. I had zero BJJ or wrestling when I started MMA… zero.

CS: Are you still currently training out of Team Curran in Illinois? What are your thoughts on mentor Jeff Curran’s recent retirement?

FH: Yes I have been with Team Curran for over 3 years now and it is my home. I bounced around from gym to gym for the longest time and am so glad that I landed here. Jeff is truly one of the best coaches in the game and I don’t think he gets that recognition yet.

FH: I am torn about his retirement. On one hand I feel like his last fight showed he is still a big threat in the division and he can still compete with the best in the sport. I mean it was a good fight and Pedro was no joke… the split decision was very close. I also know that Jeff is a fighter through and through so his competitive edge is always going to be calling him.

FH: He has done so much for this sport that I know it’s hard to hang it up. On the other hand I know that 16 years of competing has taken a toll on his body and his business and family requires his attention a lot. On a selfish note I am excited to have my coach back and with me 100%.

CS: After you were released by Bellator as part of their decision to no longer promote female bouts, what prompted you to sign with Invicta FC?

FH: Honestly my management and I requested our release before that news was made so this was not a case of me being let go and looking for a new home. I went to my first Invicta show to support my friend Carla Esparza. I went in there thinking I wouldn’t really want to fight on an all girls show because I liked being the “feature women’s fight” on an all male card. I admit I shot from the hip and actually made this statement to some media outlets.

FH: After feeling the energy and vibe at my first Invicta show I knew it was something very special. Then I had the chance to meet Shannon Knapp and spend some time with her at the show and honestly I knew in my gut then that I would like to fight for her.

FH: I had this fear that she may judge me like so many people do and she really didn’t at all. As a matter of fact I felt like we may have a lot of similarities and she just really understood me. There was an incident in the hotel bar (which I won’t mention names) when “someone” started messing with me. Shannon came out of nowhere and jumped to my defense and I wasn’t even an Invicta fighter at the time. It was that moment that I knew if Shannon had my back like that then she must really have the backs of her fighters.

FH: After that I went to Invicta 6 just to support WMMA and Invicta and again felt that energy and also that these girls are the best of the best and this is truly where I needed to be.

CS: What are you most looking forward to now that you are a part of the Invicta family?

FH: Staying active!

CS: What do you think a company like Invicta FC that solely promotes female athletes does for the sport of Women’s MMA?

FH: I think it’s absolutely amazing. Like I said earlier I shot from the hip early on and said I wouldn’t want to fight in an all women’s show, but I really had no idea until I came to one how it was, and I admit whole heartedly that I was wrong. Invicta is WMMA!

CS: You have stated that you would never fight friend and current Invicta FC Straweight Champion Carla Esparza again. Does that mean you are considering a move up or down in weight class? What are your goals within the organization?

FH: I don’t know what would happen if I got to the point where I was a contender, but I do know I have a ways to go before that could happen and there is just no way I could stand across the cage from my girl again.

FH: I have no problem fighting anyone in the division even ones I’m friends with, but Carla is beyond that… She is beyond a teammate. Carla is one girl that when everyone was talking bad about me (including some of her friends), she didn’t. She could have jumped on the wagon especially because we fought but she didn’t… she was so genuine and actually publicly stuck up for me to many of the standard haters that constantly criticize me. We have become so close that there is just no way I could look at her and get motivated to fight her. People like Carla don’t come into your life very often and I love her way too much to risk our friendship.

CS: You participated in two MMA themed reality shows in the past, Fight Girls and Ultimate Women Challenge. What were your experiences like on those shows? Would you participate in the rumored Invicta FC reality show if asked?

FH: I would definitely take part in an Invicta reality show. I have faith in Shannon and the Invicta brand that the show would be legit so no question… if Invicta wanted me then I would be in for sure.

FH: I didn’t really participate in Ultimate Women Challenge. They courted me to be on the show but I had a bad feeling in my gut about it and I didn’t do it. I had the experience from being on Fight Girls to know what a real production should be like and this did not come close.

FH: My experience on Fight Girls was awesome! I met a lot of great people and I really loved that experience. As a matter of fact I just recently reconnect with Gina Carano, who was my coach/mentor on the show and we have been chatting a lot. It’s really great to be back in touch with her, I missed her… she always called me “little monster” and when I saw her at RFA for my coaches last fight we picked right up where we left of. Hi Gina!!! 

CS: You maintain a strong social media presence and connection with your fans. How important is that to you personally and to your career?

FH: Social media is so important for me. I think when you engage your fans and entertain them through that media you can really connect. I do my best to engage with everyone but obviously it can get hard to keep up with. A few years ago fans would never have the outlet to connect with athletes, singers, actors, etc… but now this gives them a chance to connect one-to-one and get a true snapshot of our everyday lives. Fans are what got me here so it’s very important for me to stay connected.

CS: Which carries with it more stress, fighting yourself or cornering a teammate?

FH: Gosh that’s a tough question! Both are very stressful but in different ways. I think I put so much into my fights and so much pressure on myself that I do get overwhelmed there a lot. Designing my outfits, diet, keeping up with my fans and promoting my sponsors. I would say more “stress” when I fight and more “emotion” when a friend fights.

CS: Outside of the gym, what types of activities do you enjoy simply for fun?

FH: You know I just like to have fun and be a happy person. I know I can tend to be a bit overboard on things but that’s just me enjoying life. It doesn’t always rub people the right way but I am never out to hurt anyone. I’m a bit of a walking contradiction… I like to travel and visit friends but I like my routine of training and staying in my groove.

FH: I like to write in my journal, read, and design clothes (mainly my fight outfits). I have a creative side to me so I’m always tinkering with things. I just recently discovered bedazzling so everyone and everything watch out!!!

CS: Lastly, it takes a team to succeed alone in the cage. Who would you like to thank?

FH: Yes it does take a team to succeed. Something a lot of fighters tend to forget. They think they are the one in the cage and they are the one getting hit and they so quickly can forget who helped get them there to give them that opportunity.

FH: I would like to thank my team at Team Curran especially Joey Diehl for always being my drill partner and pushing me. My coach Jeff Curran for coaching me and for everything he does behind the scenes that most of his fighters don’t even know about. My Thai coach Ian Alexander for always making time for me. Shannon States who has been my boxing coach since day one and always been there for me even when I may not have been for him.

FH: And my manager Brian Butler from SuckerPunch Entertainment. My career has never been the same since we teamed up and I am very grateful for him.

FH: I also have to thank my sponsors who have given me everything I need to be 100% dedicated to this sport. Because of them I am living my dream and have been able to become a full time fighter. Alienware (and you Cody Norris for championing MMA for me and all of MMA to Dell), Allmax Nutrition, Americana MMA, Dom Fight Gear, SoldierFit, Battleware, BlueGrace Logistics and Fighterwarehouse.

Women’s MMA pioneer Julie Kedzie continues to blaze a path for other fighters as she fights full time and provides commentary for Invicta Fighting Championships.

Commanding universal respect among her peers, and unable to hide her passion for the sport, Kedzie is a welcome addition to all Invicta broadcasts. Despite never commentating or conducting interviews before, Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp chose Kedzie as the face in the cage, and few could argue Knapp could have made a better decision.

Corey Smith: After nearly a decade fighting professionally, everywhere from Indiana to Russia, you recently made your UFC debut. What was that experience like for you?

Julie Kedzie: It was a surreal experience in a way, because it was a relief to finally be in the UFC in that it was such a dream and a goal for so long. But I was very disappointed in my performance. So the only thing that I can do is work harder to represent myself better and show that I am actually a very good fighter and that I belong there.

JK: For me it was a little bit of a road block, but it was a good lesson learned. I lost the split decision, and I didn’t really execute the way I was supposed to out there.

CS: Others fighters have spoken about ‘Octagon Jitters’ in their debuts. Do you believe that was an issue for you?

JK: No I didn’t actually feel ‘Octagon Jitters’ to be honest. Because of my experience working with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn and fighters on the Jackson/Winkeljohn team, I’ve been backstage at UFC events before. I’ve been under the bright lights before, even though they were never directed at me. I’ve been around it, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable for me.

JK: I really think for me, there was a little bit of a block in my mind. I don’t want to say too relaxed, but something just didn’t quite happen for me.  For me, there are a lot of factors that go into that; it had been a really long time for me since I fought, and I was coming off a really major surgery. But I don’t really believe in making excuses like that, it just didn’t happen for me. I have to do better next time. I don’t think it was ‘Octagon Jitters,’ I don’t think it was ring rust; I just need to do better. All you can do is move on to the next thing.

CS: With world class talent at Jacksons’ Winklejohn’s in almost every weight category, what is the team atmosphere like in New Mexico?

JK: The team atmosphere is probably what keeps me going. That’s the reason I am here in Albuquerque. Not that it’s not a beautiful place, I’ve come to love this town, but the team is the heart of the town to me; it’s the heart of MMA to me.  For instance coming back in after a loss, I know that the only place that I want to be is with my team because they are my family. They are the people that will kind of rag you a little bit, tease you a bit, but also teach you how to win.

JK:  There just such nice people here, there is just this atmosphere of everybody trying to make everyone else better. Even though we are trying to achieve things for ourselves, there is this recognition here that you can’t do that on your own, that you need your coaches and your teammates around you. It’s a very addictive atmosphere. The people that are the most successful are the ones that keep coming back here.

CS: The team boasts an unusually large female contingent compared to most gyms. What advantages do you receive from being able to train with other female athletes as opposed to training with a male athlete?

JK: I think that there are advantages to training with men, and I think there are advantages to training with women. I think one of the main advantages to having talented female training partners, is that I am fighting with them, I’m not fighting men. There is aggression with them, a level of competiveness that exists between two women that doesn’t always exist between a man and a woman.

JK: If you take a 135 pound man like Damacio Page, and put him against a 135 pound woman like me, regardless of how many fights I’ve had, he outclasses me in strength. It’s not that good technique can’t win over strength, but when it’s two women, and you are at the same strength level and the same technique level, you gain a little bit more out of a training partner that way. There is also a lot of inspiration to be gained by watching other female fighters training for fights.

JK: I might lose a fight, but then I watch someone like Holly Holm get an amazing knockout, it makes me want to get back on my feet and cheer for her and then achieve that for myself. There is a competitiveness that’s not to beat each other, but to live up to each other’s expectations of each other. We expect the best from each other, we expect to push, and we expect you to win. That kind of atmosphere really breeds success I think.

CS: When you aren’t training or fighting, you provide color commentary and interviews for Invicta FC. What has that experience been like?

JK: I LOVE it. I absolutely love doing the color commentary for Invicta. I had no idea that it would be something I would like or that I would be good at, but I am and I like it. It makes me feel a connection to the fighters out there. I know I am critiquing their performance, and they may not like what I am doing but it makes me feel like I’m bridging some sort of gap between the fighters and the viewers watching.

JK:  I work with such a great team. I absolutely love King Mo. I love Mauro Renallo, and I loved Bas Rutten when he was there too. It’s such a great experience to work with these knowledgeable people that I have watched for years and have them kind of guide me through and teach me how to represent the sport in a different facet.

CS: Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp has stated she is particularly proud of ‘discovering’ you for the commentary role. Most fans would agree that your positive energy and enthusiasm are a welcome addition. How do you feel you have grown in that role?

JK: I definitely still make mistakes, and I still stumble during interviews and stuff like that. What I’ve learned the most is that you make that connection to that fighter that you are talking to, and you make that connection to the crowd. It isn’t about me, that’s what I’ve learned. I might be too fat in my business suit; I might to be too skinny in my suit. None of it matters. What matters is that the fighter is able to communicate.

JK: After fighting they are out of breath, and crazy exhilarated or totally heartbroken and it’s my job to center them and bring them back. That’s been the most challenging part for me to not make it about me, but to make my questions about them. That sounds really self-centered, but I’m just trying to being honest with you. It’s hard, I have a hard time with crowds and everyone is looking at you, and you’re in the cage. You think ‘everyone is looking at me,’ but they aren’t looking at me, the focus isn’t on me, the focus is on the fighter. That realization made me work really hard to ask the right questions so that people are connected to the fighter.

JK: As far as the enthusiasm, I love MMA. I wouldn’t be involved in it if I didn’t love it. There are times when disappointing things are happening. Of course there is heartbreak, injuries, and these sorts of things that can happen. But at the heart of things we have a really beautiful sport. Just getting to experience people competing at this high level, it’s awesome.

JK:  It’s a beautiful avenue for humanity. I am very privileged. I don’t want to take my position in the company for granted, and I don’t want to take my position in the sport for granted. When fighting is done right, people are completely stripped bare. They show how much they care, how much work they put into it, and that’s MMA at its best. And you see that so much at Invicta, which is incredible.

CS: What do you think an all-female promotion does for Women’s MMA as compared to a card that has one or two female bouts mixed in with male bouts?

JK: Obviously it improves the rankings and the depths of divisions. There are more women competing because they don’t have to compete with men for spots on the card. Beyond that I think it really is the final argument against the naysayers that say women can’t fight. The people that don’t support women’s MMA end up watching an Invicta card, and it inevitably changes the conversation from ‘oh these women can’t fight,’ to ‘these women do better than those women.’

JK: So women can fight, and they are doing it progressionally, and doing a good job. The conversation has changed from women can’t fight to who can beat Ronda (Rousey.) So you see these breakout starts like Ronda and Gina (Carrano) and then you see Shannon (Knapp) and Janet (Martin) band together to give women this avenue. The whole idea that women can’t fight has been made dumb when you see a promotion putting on these fights that are compelling and are evenly matched.

CS: With such an extensive and respected career, do you feel any responsibility to mentor or help younger fighters?

JK: Oh yeah, of course I feel a responsibility to mentor. But you know the best way to do that for up and coming fighters is to lead by example. You look at the pitfalls of my career; I won’t sit here and tell you I am undefeated because that is a lie. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’ve had the best fights in the world. I have had some of the best fights in the world, but they haven’t all been barn burners. Some of them have been boring as hell.

JK: So the only thing you can do is lead by example. I can sit here and talk to girls all day about doing this or that as a fighter, or I could simply not quit.  That’s what I really got going for me, not as a pioneer maybe but as a leader in the sport.  I’m not going to give it up until I am ready to. Until I have squeezed every drop of life out of this sport that I can. Until I have proven myself to myself, I am not quitting. That I think is the best example from my career that I can show them. That’s the best way that I can mentor young fighters.

JK:  It seems like an easy answer, but it’s really hard. I’ve put my time in, and I could retire, but there is no way in hell I am going to do that. I am fired up to be the best fighter in the world and the only thing I can say to the up and coming fighters is that it’s their responsibility to do it. Lead by example.

CS: What are your general fan interactions like?  Are there any differences between fans of male and female MMA?

JK: There are some people that are exclusively female fans, and there are some that are just creepers and gross. Then there are some that are just trolling trying to get you to yell at them, and there are some that are just trying to pick fights with you just so they can get attention. But I think that male fighters have trolls and creepers as well.

JK: In general though, my fans are incredibly nice and I love interacting with them. I don’t mind a Twitter fight here or there, but I do end up blocking the super negative people. I have a lot of people after my fights that tell me I suck. I have a lot of people during my commentary for Invicta that tell me I suck. I usually block them, because I don’t have time for people that just want attention by insulting me.

JK: There are people that want to talk to and ask why this is or that, and I feel very happy when I have a moment to sort of explain things. I can be mean, and maybe make fun of people sometimes if they are just fishing for attention. I try not to be a bully, but I am definitely a person who likes to fight back a bit. I don’t go out of my way to insult anybody, but if someone goes out of their to insult me or my teammates, I’m very protective of my teammates, I get pretty mad.

JK: For the most part, the fans of female fighters, they go to all the Invicta events, they talk to all the fighters, and they’re amazing. They had the least available to them in this sport for the longest time, and I have respect for them. They are the ones at the end of the day that pay the bills. MMA itself is a very accessible sport still. We’re not on this level where we have ten thousand bodyguards walking down the hall.

JK: You can still walk up to a fighter and say ‘Hey can I can take a picture with you?’ or ‘Hey can I get your autograph.’ I like that. There is nothing different from me than them. We’re the same. I just happen to be doing the action that they like. I’m sure they can write or draw something that I would like. It’s just who is doing the art, and who is doing the appreciating of the art. I think you have to have respect for that connection.

CS: Outside of the gym and the world of MMA, what types of activities do you enjoy?

JK: I have a wonderful dog Bailey. I work at the gym, so I’m around MMA almost 24/7. I very much enjoy reading. I love to read. I love animals. I’d love to go to Africa someday on safari. Zoos can kind of be sad places, I’d love to see animals in their natural habitats. I love animals. Someday I want to have a big ranch like Cowboy (Cerrone) has, and just fill it with dogs and children. Just a dog and children ranch, have them running all over the place. That would be great. I’m usually a pretty solitary person though, I go home and I like to be alone, have my music, have my TV shows, and have my book. I love being with my dog, I love reading, and I love going to the gym.

CS: Whenever you decide to take off the gloves for the last time, what will you have wanted to have accomplished at that point?

JK: I want the UFC belt. If we are talking about physical, material things, then I want the belt. I want the UFC belt. And I am going to fight for it, until I can’t fight for it anymore. I am going to achieve it; I am going to get that belt. In terms of other things, I want to make sure that I fought the fights I was supposed to fight and that I fought as the fighter I was supposed to fight as. I don’t want to look back at my career with regrets.

JK:  With someone that has had so many losses and gone through so many ups and downs, it’s easy to fall. But I’m not going to let that happen to me. I’m not going to look back on my career with regrets and say ‘I shouldn’t have done that, or I shouldn’t have fought that person.’ Hopefully before I hang up the gloves, I have another career I can make a transition into. That’d be nice!

CS:  Lastly, whether you are commentating or fighting, it takes a team to succeed. Who would you like to thank?

JK: First and foremost I always want to thank Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, Israel Martinez, John Wood, and all my teammates at Jacksons Winkeljohn MMA. They are the ones that keep me going.

JK: I would like to thank Fear the Fighter, Hayabusa, Ikon Motoring, and the Fight Dentist. Those are they guys that really supported me.

JK: Friends, family, and teammates. All of them.

JK: And my dog Bailey!