Competitive spirit pushes ‘Crispy’ Carli Judice to excel at Mixed Martial Arts

Published 5:30 am Sunday, March 6, 2022

Carli Judice has traded her catcher’s mitt for grappling gloves. The former New Iberia Senior High and McNeese softball star currently holds the women’s featherweight title for Gulf Coast MMA and will be defending that title later this month.

Judice said when she finished playing at McNeese, she was left without a clear direction in life.

“I went to McNeese for a few years to play softball,” she said. “I ended up coming home and just working, not doing much. I’ve played sports my whole life, so when I didn’t have anything to do I was kind of bored. My brother came to Headkicks … so I came to the gym and just fell in love with it because it was something to do finally since I was no longer in sports. I’ve been here for two years as of February and I love it.”

Judice said that she never intended to compete in mixed martial arts, but fell in love with it as soon as she got a taste of combat sports.

“I had no idea (that I would compete), I was that kind of person who confused UFC for MMA, just didn’t know anything about it,” she said.

The Tuesday night sparring classes that she attends are more competition-based, she said.

“When I finally got into that and got hit and hit people back, I found a thrill in it. I’ve always competed in sports, so to be able to compete again rather than just come and practice was something that I looked for,” she said.

Judice’s coach at Headkicks, Aaron Phillips, said Carli has been dedicated from the beginning.

“Carli came to us about two and a half years ago and she was a great athlete in softball and told me that she was putting softball on hold and that she wanted to pursue mixed martial arts,” he said. “She took it seriously from the get-go. If anybody has put in a whole lot of work and really capitalized on their potential, it’s Carli. The women’s MMA division is out there for the taking, and I definitely think that she has the potential to make waves on the local scene, on the professional level, and as far as she wants to go with it.”

Phillips explained that Judice is a well-rounded fighter that uses her striking, cardio, and heart to win fights.

“One of her strengths as a fighter is her kicks, she has thighs that pack some power,” he said. “That also goes into her takedown defense and her takedown ability as well. Her third MMA fight went five rounds as an amateur, so her cardio is definitely there. To top it off is her resiliency. She broke her hand in the first round of the last fight and she started to tell me that it was broken and we just said ‘it is what it is’ and went out and did another four rounds after that where she won a unanimous decision.”

Judice added that with so much excitement during the fight, she almost didn’t feel the injury.

“I broke my hand in the first round, but you have so much adrenaline that you don’t really notice it. I knew that it was broken or that something was wrong, but you don’t really feel the pain of it.”

Judice credits her soccer and softball background for giving her such deadly kicking ability.

“Kicks are one of my favorite things to do, I use them a lot,” said Judice. “I played soccer growing up and I was a catcher (in softball), so I was always squatting. I love to use my legs, pivot my hips like when I was hitting softballs. I think that definitely carried over to MMA, being able to turn my hips fast and having stronger legs. My game is definitely more kickboxing, but you have to be well-rounded, so I’m always at practice trying to get my Jiu-Jitsu, my wrestling, and my grappling up.”

Judice has a 3-0 record in amateur MMA so far and is looking for her fourth victory with this month’s title defense.

Her first two fights were in Mississippi. Judice said they were regular MMA fights that she won by technical knockouts. Her last fight was in Lake Charles for the belt, which was a five-round fight.

“I also went to a Muay Thai tournament a year ago and I’m 1-0 in that too,” she said.

Her next fight is in about two weeks to defend her current belt for Gulf Coast MMA. Her opponent in the upcoming fight is Anna Crutchfield, who holds a 2-2 record and fights out of Birmingham, Ala. Judice said that Crutchfield will be a big test for her as she begins to prepare for the transition to a professional fighter.

“(My opponent) is definitely a big test, she’s a kickboxer so it’ll definitely be a huge challenge,” she said. “When I win this fight, I’ll probably have a few more amateur fights to make sure that I go against good wrestlers and good grapplers. If I can handle those, which I plan to, I’ll go pro from there. UFC is the goal, I just need to prove to myself and to others that I deserve to be there.”

Judice’s fight will take place on March 19 at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Doors open at 4 p.m. and fights begin at 5 p.m. The event will also be available via pay-per-view. Search for Gulf Coast Mixed Martial Arts, LLC and Headkicks Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness Club on Facebook for more information.