In episode 30 of the show, MMA pioneer Julie Kedzie joins Fernanda to talk about her retirement from the octagon, her current life commentating for Invicta MMA, her experiences in grad school, who belongs on the MMA Mount Rushmore, and more. Listen to the episode here or check out the embed below!
On the show, Kedzie spoke candidly about the raw, tangible appeal of the sport:
“And I don’t want that to comfort me, but it kind of does because… then you see what good things come of [MMA]” She said.
“… but how people can rise to the occasion to such a beautiful heights in the worst circumstances, which I mean, that’s I think what people seek in MMA, right?
“I don’t think anybody goes up, says, ‘I want to have a war! I’m going to go off five rounds.’ Well, but you know, they want to be prepared for that. But you want an easy, quick victory, right? You want to, you know, stay on top forever, and like finishing somebody is the easiest way to know that. Yeah, I’m done. It’s there.
“But at the same time, you’re torturing yourself up into that point and camp and you love it. I mean, you’re seeking that right. You’re seeking that kind of pain and that kind of suffering in order to perfect yourself. So I think it says there’s a microcosm of the human—It’s the human spirit in action. And I think that’s one of the draws me to it.”
