Invicta matchmaker Julie Kedzie: Cyborg on UFC Fight Pass 'a logical assumption'
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Cris Cyborg has not been signed by the UFC. But it's very possible her next fight could air on UFC Fight Pass.
Cyborg, who has been at odds with the UFC and president Dana White, is the Invicta FC women's featherweight champion. On Thursday night, the UFC announced it had entered into a deal with Invicta and now the all-female promotion's live events will be broadcast on the UFC's digital network.
Invicta FC matchmaker Julie Kedzie told FOX Sports on Friday that Cyborg defending her title on UFC Fight Pass is a solid possibility.
"Well, she's an Invicta fighter," Kedzie said. "I believe that would be a logical assumption."
Kedzie, a former UFC fighter and women's MMA pioneer, said she is not sure when Cyborg will fight next. Invicta president Shannon Knapp told MMA Fighting on Friday that Ediane Gomes would be her next opponent.
Invicta is targeting its first Fight Pass show to be at the end of the summer, Kedzie said. There are no fights currently in place, but Kedzie said there will absolutely be a title defended on the card. Cyborg-Gomes will likely be on that show, Knapp said.
The Albuquerque resident, who works at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA here, will be moving to Kansas City full-time to concentrate on her role with Invicta.
"I believe so much in [Invicta president Shannon Knapp] and what's going on and my potential in this company and what I can do for it and what they can do for me and what we're going to do for women in this sport," Kedzie said. "This is worth leaving the nest a little bit for."
The UFC does not typically cross-promote with other MMA organizations, which is why Kedzie believes Invicta being on Fight Pass is a "milestone" event for females in the sport.
"This next step I think is absolutely huge for women's MMA," Kedzie said.
It's unclear whether this relationship with Invicta will have any bearing on Cyborg challenging UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, which would be a matchup of the two best pound-for-pound female fighters in the world.
Cyborg was under contract with UFC parent company Zuffa when Zuffa bought Strikeforce, but asked to be released from her deal, saying she could not make the women's bantamweight 135-pound limit. Cyborg ended up signing with Invicta, but many verbal barbs have been thrown in her direction by Rousey, who most recently called her "an it," referring to Cyborg's past steroid use.
UFC president Dana White defended Rousey's words in April and doubled down, saying that he had said Cyborg looked like male fighter Wanderlei Silva in a dress at an MMA awards show earlier this year.
Cyborg, 28, also has not unkind things to say about Rousey and White, but has vowed to cut to 135 pounds in an effort to sign with the UFC and fight Rousey as soon as the end of this year. Rousey meets Alexis Davis at UFC 175 on July 5 in Las Vegas.
Invicta and the UFC already have a strong business rapport. The UFC has filled its 115-pound women's division, which starts up in the fall with an all-female Ultimate Fighter season, with 11 former Invicta fighters. Invicta was compensated in return, but it's unclear in what way.
