Coming off a loss in her last bout of 2016, veteran flyweight Roxanne Modafferi was looking to rebound in her first bout of 2017 when she took on Priscila de Souza at Fusion Fight League on April 1.
Having been forced to go to decision in her previous two bouts, Modafferi was able to pick up a second-round submission win over de Souza and get her career back on track.
“I was happy with that fight,” Modafferi told MMAWeekly.com. “I feel like I performed very well. My coach thought I showed the improvements we made in training, and it’s always good to get positive feedback from my coach.”
With over 30 bouts in her 14-year career, Modafferi still feels motivated as ever, and maybe even more so now that she’s been able to make her passion for fighting a career.
“My drive is still as strong as it has ever been,” she said. “I know I still have more potential in my striking department. I’m learning new moves every day from both of my coaches. And it’s still exciting. I’m so hungry and so excited to try things out in actual live combat – that’s where a lot of my drive comes from.
“I never had expectations of myself. I just wanted to see how far I could go with it. Looking back, I’m surprised. I’m happy and surprised that I’m able to fight full time now. I never really thought I’d be able to do that.”
While she’s added a lot to her game over the years, Modafferi still maintains the same core foundation that has made her one of the most difficult opponents to game plan for in women’s MMA.
“I think my style is still very similar to what it used to be,” Modafferi said. “My coach has said that I’m one of the most awkward fighters he’s ever trained. His goal was to keep my awkwardness but make it work for me better. I think that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
On Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., Modafferi (19-13) will look to build a winning streak for herself when she takes on Sarah D’Alelio (11-6) in a 125-pound co-main event of Invicta FC 23.
“She’s a tough opponent,” said Modafferi of D’Alelio. “She’s fought a lot of tough people. She’s very well-rounded, and that excites me. I think it will be a battle of wills. It will be about who can implement their game plan better. I’m looking forward to testing both my striking ability and Jiu-Jitsu against her.”
While Modafferi is able to make a living off of fighting, she would like to be able to build a more stable future for herself in the sport moving forward.
“I never really started fighting for money, however at this point it would be able to save some money instead of making due,” she said. “So I would like to make more money in my fighting career. Other than that, I want to keep improving and successfully implement my techniques on my opponents.”
