A few weeks ago fellow MMA reporter, colleague and friend Jocelyn Edwards expressed that she has been training MMA for the last few months and wanted to dip her toes into MMA by having her first professional bout. She openly challenged any female bantamweights to which none accepted.
She was ignored. Laughed at. Disregarded as a side show freak.
In my line of work, I understand where it comes from. These athletes live and breathe MMA day in and day out with long hard shifts at the gym sometimes multiple times per day. In Thailand at Lone Wolf MMA, I have personally witnessed several young fighters sleeping on wrestling mats because it's a better alternative to them then sleeping on the streets. At HILITE FC's world class facility, they have live in dorms where several top fighters have been known to live at in the past.
And sure, we receive reports all the time about fighters not taking fights seriously enough or skipping out on workouts and not completing a full training camp but even these fighters are some of the best of the world who at some point put that work in day in and day out to get to the GCC under card in the first place.
So when an MMA reporter comes along and asks the GCC for a fight, I totally empathize with both parties perspective. I spoke to Fazan Khan about the situation, he and his team have been tight lipped about Jocelyn Edwards wanting a fight - fearing that the sideshow of it all may pickup some real traction and put him in a tight spot. He did explain to me that it was all but impossible to put her in a fight against an existing bantamweight on the roster because is it a lose/lose scenario for an under card fighter and had doubts that an athletic commission would ever sanction the bout in the first place.
Without the backing of the GCC, there are little options left for Jocelyn Edwards outside of hitting the local circuit and building up an amateur record for a few years. Other promotions like Ammazon boast a fairly impressive of women on their rosters and while a promotion like Union could probably make the bout happen through illegal means, it would likely result in Jocelyn Edwards fighting Amateur level men. Low level or not, Jocelyn Edwards would likely be seriously hurt in either of those situations.
The situation with Jocelyn reminds me a lot of myself. As a former professional wrestler, I was untrained for the better part of my career. I took on matches wherever I could and learned to be an opportunist and lulled my opponents into a false sense of security by letting my opponents ego and pride do all the work for me. Along the way, I was able to learn on the job - expanding my move set and wrestling knowledge as I
went along. However, if I never got that chance then I would have never known that I could do it.
Granted, this is the world of MMA and I know it's much more different then pro wrestling despite what pro wrestlers often try to lead you to believe. Jocelyn Edwards cannot just ''get by'' in an MMA octagon. You can't just roll someone up for three seconds and call it a night.
I guess what I am trying to get to with all this diatribe is that I want to be the one that makes his dream
happen for Jocelyn Edwards. I want to be that door that opens for her, that gives her a pathway to an MMA career if she so chooses to pursue it beyond one fight. Alternatively, she may get in there with me and realize that this idea was as crazy as it sounds to the rest of the world.
Either way, she is my friend and this is what friends do for each other. I accept.
I will fight Jocelyn Edwards.
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