Modafferi with plenty to prove after defeats
Don’t mistake the constant smile and eternally pleasant demeanor of Roxanne Modafferi for a lack of competitiveness.
The 31-year-old is extremely passionate about her fighting career. She just can’t stop being herself.
“I love that image people have of me. I think it’s great there’s such a contrast between my personality and the fact I fight. It makes me feel unique,” she said after a training session at Syndicate MMA last week. “Fighters need to show their individuality in order to stand out in the sport.”
Modafferi first came to Las Vegas to appear on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show and decided to relocate to take advantage of the training options available in town.
She hopes to show what she has learned since she was released from the UFC following a loss in November when she fights Tara LaRosa on the Invicta Fighting Championships card on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
It provides a chance for Modafferi to win the rubber match after splitting two previous fights with LaRosa. She also has a chance to snap what is officially listed as a six-fight losing streak.
“I’d like to contest that because I feel like the fight I won to get in the house should count as a fight,” she said of a victory over Valerie Letourneau in a fight that is considered an exhibition. “Unfortunately its not on my record, but mentally I don’t feel like I’ve lost six in a row. I just feel like I lost my last one. That’s important to me.
“That was the most important fight in my career to be honest with you because I got that huge opportunity.”
Modafferi is one of the pioneers of female MMA. She took her first fight in 2003 and built a record of 15-5 against some of the bigger names in the sport at the time before her recent slide.
She lived in Japan for many years, training and fighting while teaching school to try to make a living before there was any real money for women. She said she saved her money along the way and decided to give it one big push as a full-time fighter when she moved to Las Vegas.
Modafferi believes it has paid off. She said her improvement since the November loss to Raquel Pennington has been immeasurable.
The fame that resulted from appearing on the reality show is something Modafferi says she enjoys. “The Happy Warrior” also had good things to say about her new hometown, even though she doesn’t really gamble or drink.
“I love Las Vegas. Even as a kid I wanted to visit here,” she said. “I just love the excitement and the colors and the pretty lights.”
Most of all, she likes the training and can’t wait to put all the hard work on display against LaRosa.
Saturday’s Invicta FC card, headlined by Yasuko Tamada challenging Michelle Waterson for the atomweight title, will be the organization’s first to stream live on the UFC’s online Fight Pass platform as part of a deal struck between the two promotions.
■ BARAO SPEAKS — Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao threw an already maligned UFC 177 card into total chaos on Friday when he was forced to pull out of his championship rematch with T.J. Dillashaw due to complications from the weight cut.
He tried to explain himself during an interview on the broadcast of the event’s preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday night in Sacramento, Calif.
“I used the same methods for getting ready for this fight as I have for my last 35 fights,” he said through a translator. “I didn’t think there was any problem. I just got up too quickly, fainted and hit my head.”
He may have to wait awhile.
UFC president Dana White said Barao will not be given a title shot in his next fight after the drama of the weekend.
■ BONNAR RETURNS — UFC veteran Stephan Bonnar announced he would return to fighting to take on Tito Ortiz on a Bellator MMA card later this year.
“I want everyone to know I’m coming out of retirement because it’s time to free the MMA world of the virus that’s known as Tito Ortiz,” the UFC Hall of Famer and Las Vegas resident said in a statement. “We’ve been suffering through his boring fights for too many years, and it’s about time that someone beats it out of him once and for all.”
Bonnar last competed against Anderson Silva in 2012. He was suspended a year after the fight due to a positive steroid test.
UFC president Dana White told reporters in Sacramento over the weekend he released Bonnar from his deal with the organization because Bonnar wanted to “beat the (expletive) out of Tito, and I’m always down for that.”
■ AOKI, ASKREN WIN TITLE BOUTS — The two big favorites scored quick victories in the co-main events of Friday night’s ONE Fighting Championships card in Dubai.
Shinya Aoki retained the lightweight title with a first-round submission of Kamal Shalorus. Former Bellator champion Ben Askren won the welterweight belt by taking down Nobutatsu Suzuki immediately and landing punches until the fight was stopped at 1:24 of the opening round.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.