Roxanne Modafferi

Biography

Modafferi's training began in taekwondo as a teenager in Pennsylvania, moving on to Mark Lawler's Kenpō Karate two years later. She then began attending the Dalton Judo Club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her description of that experience was: "I thought I was all cool doing Karate, like the movie stars, but then in Judo I learned what it was like to fly." She trained for three years to gain a brown belt in the style, and then graduated from high school. Before leaving home to study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a fellow brown belt brought Modafferi to a Royce Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu association in Adams, Massachusetts, where she trained intensively for three months.

Modafferi majored in Japanese Language and Literature with a minor in Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts. While at college, she found the Amherst Athletic club, where New England Submission Fighting is based. In addition, she trained at another Royce Gracie association in Hartford, Connecticut, for about a year (necessitating a weekly two-hour round trip), also investigating Jeremy Libiszewski's School of Self-Defence in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. During summer vacations in Boston, she trained at Joao Amaral's New England BJJ club, now associated with Brazilian Top Team. Modafferi says, "Those guys are tough as concrete is hard, and beat my weaknesses out of me when they found them." To work on her striking, she also attended the Sityodtong Muay Thai Academy's North American branch in Somerville, Massachusetts, run by Kru Mark DellaGrotte.

She is now a member of the Syndicate MMA team.

International career

Modafferi spent September 2003 to June 2004, her junior year, in Tokyo, Japan. This enabled her to compete in a number of NHB and BJJ competitions. She achieved a 3-0 mixed martial arts record in the Smackgirl promotion and defeated Jennifer Howe (who, at that time, was considered to be the best female fighter in the United States, if not the world) in HOOKnSHOOT.

In Japan, she trained at the Cross Point club in Kichijouji, which taught both Muay Thai and BJJ. She hopes to one day write a book about her experiences during that time, having already contributed several articles on the topic. After graduating in May 2005, she secured a position with Berlitz, teaching English in Japan and arriving for the second time in July 2005.

Modafferi earned a win by split decision against Cassandra Rivers-Blasso at Fatal Femmes Fighting on February 2, 2007. She became K-GRACE Women's Open-Weight Tournament Champion on May 27, 2007 by defeating Hee Jin Lee, Megumi Yabushita and Marloes Coenen.

Roxanne defended her FFF title against Vanessa Porto at FFF 4 – Call of the Wild on April 3, 2008. She won the fight by TKO in the third round.

She signed a contract with the American Fight League and was scheduled to face Tara LaRosa at the AFL's November event, but fought instead at the debut Valkyrie event in Japan after the AFL's plans stalled.

Strikeforce

Modafferi moved up a weight class and made her long-awaited Strikeforce debut in a rematch with Marloes Coenen on November 7, 2009 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, but lost the fight by armbar in the first round.

Independent promotions

On January 30, 2010, Modafferi submitted Molly Helsel in the second round at King of the Cage: Toryumon in Okinawa, Japan.

Modafferi rematched Tara LaRosa at Moosin: God of Martial Arts on May 21, 2010. Strikeforce provided official permission for Modafferi to compete on the card. Modafferi won the fight by Split Decision.

Strikeforce return

Modafferi returned to Strikeforce to challenge Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce Challengers: del Rosario vs. Mahe on July 23, 2010. She lost the fight via knockout due to a slam in the third round.

Modafferi was released by Strikeforce on November 12, 2010 after losing both her fights with the promotion. She was scheduled to face Hitomi Akano at World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight on December 30, 2010, but the fight was cancelled after Modafferi suffered a stomach illness and was unable to compete.

International return

Modafferi faced Rosi Sexton at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 40 on February 26, 2011. The fight was Modafferi's debut at 125 pounds. She was defeated by Unanimous Decision.

Modafferi then faced Hitomi Akano in a bout rescheduled for Jewels 15th Ring on July 9, 2011. She was defeated by Unanimous Decision.

Modafferi was scheduled to face Aisling Daly at BlackEye Promotions 5 on October 1, 2011 in Fletcher, North Carolina. However, Daly was forced to withdraw from the card and Modafferi faced Barb Honchak instead. She was defeated by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the third round.

On February 10, 2012, it was announced that Modafferi would face Takayo Hashi at Jewels 18th Ring on March 3 in Tokyo. She was defeated by unanimous decision.

Modafferi was set to face Shizuka Sugiyama at Jewels 22nd Ring on December 15, 2012. However, she suffered a neck injury in training and withdrew from the fight on December 13.

The Ultimate Fighter 18

In August 2013, it was announced that Modafferi was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. In the elimination fight to get into the TUF house, Modafferi faced Valérie Létourneau and won via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. She later lost her first tournament fight to Jessica Rakoczy.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 2013, it was announced that Modafferi would make her official UFC debut against fellow TUF 18 alumni Raquel Pennington on November 30, 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. She lost the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Invicta FC

Modafferi met Tara LaRosa for the third time at Invicta FC 8 on Saturday, September 6, 2014. The event was the first Invicta event to air exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. Modafferi won the fight via unanimous decision, ending her 6 fight losing streak with her first win in four years. She followed this up with a split decision win over Andrea Lee at Invicta FC 10 on Friday, December 5, 2014.

Modafferi faced Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 12 on Friday, April 24, 2015 and lost the fight via unanimous decision. Modafferi faced Mariana Morais at Invicta FC 14 on Saturday, September 12, 2015, and won via TKO stoppage in the third round. Modafferi brought her Invicta FC record to 4-1 with a win over DeAnna Bennett in March 2016 at Invicta FC 16. She was later announced as challenging Jennifer Maia for the Invicta FC flyweight championship at Invicta FC 19 on September 23, 2016. The fight will be Modafferi's first title fight in the Invicta FC promotion.

The Ultimate Fighter 26

In August 2017, it was announced that Modafferi would be one of the fighters featured on The Ultimate Fighter 26, where the process to crown the UFC's inaugural 125-pound women's champion will take place. In the opening round, Modafferi faced Shana Dobson and won by TKO due to punches in the first round.

Mixed martial arts

Submission grappling