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Two of MMA’s top 135-pound female fighters will collide in a five-round title fight at Jackson’s MMA Series 4 on April 9th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2007 HOOKnSHOOT Women’s Grand Prix Champion Kaitlin Young will face well-rounded veteran Julie “Fireball” Kedzie in a featured bout on the card.

Both fighters recently took part in the ill-fated Ultimate Women Challenge reality show competition last year, though results from the fights that took place during filming have yet to be released. The bout between Young and Kedzie will determine the first Jackson’s MMA Series Women’s Champion.

Young (4-4-0)* opened her career with four devastating knockout wins, including a victory over current Strikeforce title challenger Miesha “Takedown” Tate, and captured the one-night HOOKnSHOOT title on November 24, 2007. However, she suffered defeats in each of her next four fights, with one loss coming at the hands of Gina “Conviction” Carano on a CBS-televised EliteXC card in 2008. Last January, she entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Grand Prix, but fell victim to a second-round armbar from Jennifer “Rosebud” Tate in the quarterfinals.

Looking to get her career back on track, Young gave up a fight last September in order to take part in the filming of the Ultimate Women Challenge competition. The show’s premise was initially based on the popular series The Ultimate Fighter, but suffered from last-minute changes and fighters were driven in secrecy to Utah for the duration of the competition. As a result of ongoing legal issues involving the show and its producers, the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission has yet to release the results from six sanctioned professional bouts that were contested on September 24th.

Kedzie (15-8-0)* carried a two-fight winning streak into filming of the UWC competition in September, and later picked up a big victory over rising prospect Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at Jackson’s MMA Series 3 in December. The seven-year veteran of the sport, who is still just 29 years old, has battled a who’s who of MMA throughout her career. Kedzie also holds a HOOKnSHOOT Grand Prix title, as she won three fights in one night on November 19, 2005. She has totalled victories over Molly Helsel (twice), Jan Finney (thrice) and Kelly Kobold, and a win over Young would be one of Kedzie’s biggest to date.

While all four of Young’s victories have come by knockout, Kedzie has never been stopped with strikes in her 23 recorded bouts. Kedzie’s highest profile fight also came in a televised battle with Gina Carano, under the EliteXC banner in 2007. She was defeated by Carano via Unanimous Decision, but the bout attracted considerable praise from fans and media alike. Kedzie will now have a chance to capture a championship title in front of many of her Jackson’s MMA teammates and supporters.

Jackson’s MMA Series 4 takes place on April 9th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Albuqerque, New Mexico. The bout between Young and Kedzie, which MMARising.com confirmed with a source close to the negotiations today, is expected to be formally announced on or before March 8th. It will be contested over five, five-minute rounds at 135 pounds.

* Note: Listed records do not include bouts which took place during the filming of the Ultimate Women Challenge reality show on September 24th in St. George, Utah.

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