This Saturday in Kansas City, Kan., marks the debut of a brand-new, all-female MMA promotion Invicta Fighting Championships. Alain Fournier of MMA Nouvelles sat down with the organization’s CEO, Shannon Knapp, to discuss the new venture and what it means for women’s MMA. Fournier provided the Q&A to sportsnet.ca.
Here it is, the interview with Shannon Knapp.
The first Invicta FC event is going to take place on April 28. What can we expect?
We can expect an action-packed card. The girls are very excited to have this opportunity. I think it’s going to be an amazing show, to be honest.
You also got a great main event with Marloes Coenen vs. Romy Ruyssen. Coenen hasn’t fought since her loss to Miesha Tate. Was it hard for you to convince her to fight again, and with Invicta?
Hard? Honestly I don’t think it was. I’ve worked with Marloes and her management several years now. I believe having that relationship prior to Invicta made things great. We have mutual respect for one another. I’ve always enjoyed working with them, and it seems to be the same for them. It really wasn’t complicated.
Having a former Strikeforce champion for the first event, was that important for you and for the credibility of Invicta?
You know, that is a fair question. Every girl on this card may not have a belt, but they are a champion in their own way. Did having Marloes on the card bring credibility to it? It has in some point. But I think it is all the fighters together that made this card what it is today. I don’t give one athlete more significance than the others.
Where does the name Invicta fighting Championships comes from?
If you google what Invicta means you’ll find “unconquerable.” It’s kind of how we feel about what we stand for, about females in this sport. These women are amazing. There’s a lack of opportunities, but they still get up, they still fight hard for that equality. I think the name pretty much says it all.
So it is about the struggle of women to get recognizing throughout the MMA world?
You could definitely look at it that way. I think there is struggle everywhere in the world. For us, when you’re looking for a name that brings an impact and that fits us. When we were looking, that name came on our minds, we thought about it, and there was no other choice. Invicta fit perfectly.
I know it’s going to be the first event, but what are your goals with Invicta FC? Are you looking to add belts, to travel in other cities, other countries?
Yeah. I mean in a perfect world. With Invicta, we look to build real solid and strong weight divisions, and crown champions. About going to other places, definitely we look to bring the show to other cities. For now we choose one location, but we want to move the show around. Who knows, maybe in other countries. During our first year, we will probably stay around Kansas City and bring girls from other countries.
There will be a free live stream on your website for the first event. Was it important for you to give the fans a free taste of Invicta FC and are you looking to get a television deal for the other events?
There has been a lot of reporters from all over the world who have been supporting women in MMA. But when you don’t have any of the platform in MMA showing your show, you don’t get anyone to see it. We wanted the show to be free and available for everyone, no matter where you’re at. By posting the feed on our website, you can watch the appearance, and walk to the first part of the journey with us. It gives the opportunity for everyone to see what we had in mind, and to watch it with us.
For the second part of the question, there will be some delay broadcasting. We had some talks, there are some opportunities. We are still waiting to see what all of those opportunities are and we will try to make the best decision.
Do you believe the next fight for women in MMA will be to get the same pay as male fighters?
I think we are still quite a way off from that. The thing is we are measured by market values. That’s how an athlete can get more money, by increasing their market values. Right now, women in MMA are moving forward, but the market value is a lot different for female athletes. That’s what we are trying to do. We are trying to build an audience for female athletes so that market value will ending up increasing.
Can we get there? Absolutely. I think it is moving already. When you look at the event with Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey and Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis it did help create a new fan base. It gives us a new audience. The more fan base we get, the more we are going to be able to increase the pay.
Some people think that a cage is not a place for women. What would you respond to them?
Well, those are the same people who think women should stay in the kitchen cooking. There are people out there that you can just not change their perception. Why do they think like that? Maybe that is how they were raised, where they grew up. Those people will never change their minds. But there are people that are open minded. If they come to the event, watch it with an open mind, we will change their perception.
Here is why. If you are a true fan of MMA — and I mean that in the strongest term, not just a fan that shows up at events and just drinks beer and goes wild — if you truly understand the sport and you are a fan, you will understand that it is acceptable for both genders. But if you are the guys who just drink beer, play the macho man who thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen, well you are never going to get it.
Women tried to get recognized in boxing with Laila Ali, and others, but weren’t really successful. Why do you think it is different in MMA?
Well there is a lot of difference between boxing and MMA. I think that our fans are way more educated. We have the diversity across the board of the type of fans. I don’t really know why women in boxing didn’t work. Maybe it was a lack of talent, not enough depth. Maybe the promotions didn’t get behind it. When you do an event with women, you really have to go out there and work. It’s not something that will get accepted immediately by the fans. You have to give yourself the commitment to make it work. It could be a lack of very different things. Our fans are just more educated. And I don’t mean educated like school-wise. They know our sport, and they can appreciate a good MMA fight whether it is a male or a female fight.
Invicta Fighting Championships 1 will be presented this Saturday April 28th live from Kansas City. You can watch the full event free on invictafc.com. You can also follow them on twitter @InvictaFights.
