Nedell looks for "Glory" in September
(Long Island, NY., August 15, 2016) – On September 9, Jennie Nedell, will get her shot at redemption. There are not many accolades she hasn’t garnered in her illustrious career, but her next fight on GLORY 33 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey, is a fight she has had circled on her calendar for quite some time.
Blood, sweat and tears have gone into this fight. The just turned 38-year-old, who was born and raised in Lindenhurst, has gone through a lot in life and most recently, just getting to the day where she fights on the biggest kickboxing card in the country. Having already lost to her next opponent (Anna Shearer) two years prior, and having that rematch canceled two months ago, Nedell is now ready, as she puts it, “for war”.
Currently 26-4-1 in her kickboxing career, and a New York State Kickboxing Champion, Nedell, who still resides in Lindenhurst, is as friendly as they come. With a cool, calm, collected demeanor that takes over the room, Nedell is the only professional female fighter under well-known coach, Ray Longo. It’s a quiet confidence, but make no mistake about it, when she speaks, she means business.
It all started 15 years ago, when Nedell just wanted to lose weight and try something new.
“I really started this to lose weight,” said Nedell. “I was training for three weeks and a promoter who is very well known now, (Ring of Combat promoter, Lou Neglia) called the gym I was training out of, looking for a replacement fighter. The only problem was I was a little bit of a pork chop, I needed to lose 30 pounds in three weeks and I did it,” Nedell recalls. “I fell in love with the sport right there. It was a horrible, horrible fight, though. If you would have seen me in the fight, you would have been like take something else up. I just fell in love with it and my dad said if you’re going do this, lets do this right. I was also into sports. I was a Junior Olympics softball player, so I always had the passion of sports. I got into my second fight and I got a little closer, then I lost my dad a couple months later in 9/11 and I used sports as my outlet.”
Having lost her dad during the September 11, 2001 attacks and with her next fight being two days before 9/11, this fight means so much to her.
“It means even more. There is so much involved in this fight, more than just the fact that this is my goal to fight on GLORY,” Nedell said. “Everyone has their dreams, if you’re a MMA fighter, your dream is to reach that pinnacle of the UFC. For a kickboxer, your goal is to reach GLORY or Bellator kickboxing or something along those lines. So, to be able to do it against a girl I already lost to, one of my only losses, and to do it two days before 9/11, it all came together the way it was supposed to.”
If you couldn’t tell by the passion that articulates from the tone of her voice, you definitely know she means business and is training for the fight of her life when you listen to her words. Nedell, who works at Suffolk Country Fire Rescue Emergency Services during the day, works as hard as anyone.
“I don’t have the luxury of most pro fighters, where you can come and go for two-a-days and rest in between,” said Nedell. “I work 7am to 3pm and come right here (LAW MMA), where I teach the kids class and then have privates. I’m here until 10 at night. Saturdays and Sundays I do three workouts a day and then break it up to make sure I can get my work in. I won’t be outworked, that’s a promise.”
Nedell, who went to Lindenhurst High School then to Suffolk County Community College and ultimately Long Island University CW Post, where she earned a degree in criminal justice, reflects back to when she first started and was introduced to Ray Longo.
Longo, who often is referred as “The Godfather”, trains multiple fighters out of his gym in Garden City, New York, including Nedell, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, bantamweight and lightweight stars, Aljamain Sterling and Al Iaquinta, respectively.
“It’s kind of surreal to me I guess,” said Nedell. “When I first came over here, I didn’t think I would get to this point. I left my old gym and I just wanted to get better and that’s when I saw Ray and we clicked and connected. It’s from there on out it progressed so quickly where he taught me things I didn’t even know were possible. He took an old dog and taught me new tricks, it’s just amazing."
Nedell started training professionally with Longo in 2011 out of LAW MMA and quickly earned success, rising above and beyond anyone’s dreams. In October, 2014, Nedell defeated Munah Holland for the New York State Kickboxing Title.
“I didn’t think I would get to this level and I don’t think Ray did either,” Nedell reflects. “To fight the girl I actually looked up to and watched fighting my whole career and then beat her for the title, where everyone thought she would kill me, it was the best feeling possible. She was supposed to walk through me on paper with being on Strikeforce and Bellator. I was this little minion looking up from the bottom to her and saying this is an honor, and to decisively beat her, nothing better than that.”
With an impressive record, lately, it has been frustrating for Nedell who hasn’t fought in a professional bout in several months because of a plethora of circumstances. In February, her opponent came in 10 pounds overweight, which made the fight an exhibition and her highly anticipated rematch against Shearer was canceled in June.
“February was tough, she came in 10 pounds overweight, so it turned out to be an exhibition,” recalls Nedell. “I actually felt her power and I was a little shaken. But what do you do, you’re a fighter and you push through. There’s always going to be someone better, someone stronger, it’s just a matter of what you have inside of you. Hearts beats talent, all the time.”
Once June came around, it was finally time for revenge against Shearer, but that was fight was canceled and so was the replacement fight soon thereafter.
“I was disappointed because she was originally supposed to come but that fell through,” Nedell speaking of her fight against Shearer. “They got me a replacement and I sold over 100 tickets and I have kids that I train. One of my little minions and me are waiting, it’s almost midnight, and we’re still waiting. She’s eight-years-old and we’re hoping this girl is going to show. She accepted the promoters’ money, flew in from Canada and then didn’t show up to the venue. You go through so much in the six to eight weeks, you want an outcome at the end and to get the win, but who wants an outcome that way, you want to fight. It was disappointing but it all happened the way it was supposed to.”
It happened the way it was supposed to because now Nedell, after all the trials and tribulations of the past months, finally gets her shot at revenge on an enormous kickboxing card receiving national and worldwide press. After losing to Shearer in April, 2014, it is almost time for the rematch.
“It’s redemption for me,” said Nedell. “I get to prove that I am the better fighter. Not that I am making excuses, she was the better fighter that day, bottom line, she won. But I am a different fighter now; I am a different person, inside and out. It’s a different type of push. Everything happens for a reason and it all came together for that reason.”
With that fight over two years ago, Nedell has tasted plenty of success and has transformed herself into a better fighter, accumulating wins and learning throughout.
“I’m a different fighter now, I kind of rushed things,” Nedell said. “I let her dictate the pace and let her control the ring. That’s not going to happen this time. I’m not going to miss my punches and I’m not going to jam myself. She’s going to know she is in a fight this time. It’s going to be a war. I’m going to be a completely different fighter and it’s going to be something to watch, that’s for sure.”
Regardless of the outcome, Nedell isn’t ready to stop fighting because of her age. She has done too well, for too long and still has a lot to prove.
“Being that I am a little older in this sport, people are always saying you should maybe retire, it’s time for you to stop,” Nedell said. “I’ll know when I should stop. I know when it’s time to stop. My body will tell me, I am not stupid and looking to get myself hurt. I want for myself, for my father, my family and friends and for Ray and for the people who believe in me to take this as far as I can, and when I am done, I want to help out everyone underneath me who has the same goals or the same passion so I can help this sport flourish the way it can.”
After two years of flourishing herself, Long Island’s own, Jennie Nedell, finally gets her chance to emphatically stamp her name on the sport after dropping her bout against Shearer a long time ago. With so much accomplished, this fight is personal and means more than any previous fight in her career. One thing is certain, Nedell is strong or as she says, “I am ‘tough’, you’re going to have to kill me to beat me.”
GLORY 33 can’t come soon enough.
To see the full interview, please go to MMA Long Island Magazine Video Center and click on Nedell or CLICK HERE.
MMA Long Island Magazine is published by MMA New York Media Corporation. For more information please visit www.mmalongislandmagazine.com or call (516) 318-2418.
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