ROXANNE MODAFFERI’S RISE TO THE TOP

By Jen Leigh – October 7, 2008

With the rising of women’s MMA at full throttle, some female fighters in the business are finally getting the respect and recognition they truly deserve. After years of hard work, names like La Rosa, Baszler, Evinger, Fujii, Kobold, Carano, & Buckner are becoming household lingo among rabid mixed martial arts fans. In the same way that Couture, Gracie, Liddell, Hughes, Barnett & Shamrock put male MMA fighters on the map, these ‘elite’ women have forged the path with ferocity, inspiring a whole new breed of fighter and fan.

One fighter whose name must be included on that list is Roxanne Modafferi. Her story and road to all things MMA is intriguing, unique and inspiring. With a pro record of 12-4, Roxanne has a laundry list of accomplishments that are beyond impressive:

     IFC Women's Middleweight Champion

     NAGA Fighter of the Year 2002

     Smack Girl World Remix Tournament 2004 Third Place

     Abu Dhabi Competitor 2005

     Fatal Femmes Fighting Lightweight Champion 2007

     K-GRACE Women's Open-weight Champion 2007

She may look like the girl next door, but don’t let that fool you. At only 26, Roxanne is an unbelievably skilled and devoted fighter, in addition to being a college graduate and English teacher in Japan. She currently lives and trains there, while continuing her studies to be a translator. Her future in this sport has no boundaries.

Modafferi recently signed with the AFL (American Fight League), home to none other than #1 ranked Tara La Rosa, easily the most respected female fighter in the world.  

Having lost to La Rosa back in 2006, Roxanne will finally get her rematch this November 8^th, as part of the AFL’s “RESURRECTION”. It will be held at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion, in affiliation with IronHeart Crown. (www.ironheart.com) This will also be La Rosa’s first time fighting for the AFL, and it is destined to be an all out war.

J : You've been around a long time in the MMA & grappling tournament scene. Tell me how you've seen the sport grow in general, as well as for women.

R : I think full contact sports have always been less popular among women than among men. At local Judo and grappling tournaments, there were all sorts of divisions: sometimes there were two divisions, light and heavyweight, beginners and advanced included; sometimes the beginners division had two weight classes, and then the advanced had light and heavy. But over time, I saw it increase in popularity from when I was grappling between 2001 and 2005 to the point where now the NAGA (North American Grappling Association) has women's beginner, intermediate and advanced divisions, each with light, middle, light heavyweight (wouldn't want to call a woman a 'heavyweight' now, would you? *smile*)

I think that as women are seeing the popularity rise among other women, they are more inclined to try it and see how awesome it is. I think the trend is the same in MMA. I think I was the first woman to be the main event on a male card (IFC Eve of Destruction. 2005).

Now Gina Carano and folks are headlining cards on national TV, and we have enough women to fill rosters of all-women's Hook n Shoot (www.fightworld.com) and Fatal Femmes Fighting. (www.fatalfemmesfighting.com)

I myself have grown from primarily a grappler, to being able to strike. And I realize that I don't have to win K-1 in order to have good MMA striking.

J : What are your thoughts on women in MMA? I.e. where it is currently, and where it could go in your opinion?

R : I think right now, it's kind of tough for women to get fights. It

seemed to boom when Elite XC and Strikeforce added women's fights, then FFF had four full all-women's cards. But it's tough to be a promoter and manage things. Organizations are collapsing left and right. Elite XC is only sticking with opponents for Gina and Shayna. Smack Girl is deflated. But I think that could turn around any minute once someone decides to sponsor women to fight more. At any rate, more and more women are training and improving, so when the fights are there, the women will be ready. That's what the boom has done for women. It can only go up from here in that regard.

J : Congrats on your recent signing with AFL. Is your contract with them exclusive, or can you fight in other organizations if the opportunity arises?

R : I plan to fight for whoever is willing to give me fights. I'm really excited to fight with the AFL. My contract is non-exclusive, so if they can't use me for a show, I can have a fight elsewhere. I pray that they're around for a long time! Seems like a great organization.

J : The rematch with Tara is obviously a long time coming. In your last fight with her (which can be found on youtube.com), you went all 3 rounds and lost to a decision. How do you see this fight going and what do you think you need to do differently this time in order to secure a win? Is there mutual respect between you and Tara? Do you see yourself as part of the current ‘elite’ in women's MMA?

R : I've been dying to fight Tara again for a long time, but I kind of knew that I needed to improve a lot of things about my game before I was ready for a rematch. She was better than me that night. Now, I don't know. That's why we need to fight again, right? I see it being an up-and-down battle, because we're both well rounded. But I shall win. Yes, Tara and I are friends. We talk on the phone sometimes.

One day, we had this conversation:

Roxy: I'm frustrated and depressed because I can't get a fight. blah blah blah.

Tara: You should sign with the AFL! I just did!

Roxy: AF who? Isn't that football?

Tara: NO!

But we were friends from NAGA tournaments even before we fought MMA the first time, and had no problem smashing each other's faces in during the fight. Of course, we've never trained together, that's different. I suppose I do consider myself ‘elite’, but only come competition time. I'm just a regular lady every day.

J : For those fans who aren't aware of your current living situation in

Japan, tell us how you came to live & teach there. Does living outside the country make fighting for the AFL more difficult ? How early will you have to travel into the U.S. to prepare for the Tara fight?

R : I wanted to become fluent in Japanese and get a job using it, so I

studied my butt off for 4 years in college, and then moved to Japan.

Unfortunately, my current job of teaching doesn't allow me to get any

practice in. So that's a problem. But I love living in Japan. I love the food, the safety, the entertainment, the cultural differences (sometimes), the amusing "Engrish" that pops up all the time.

I wouldn't know what to do if I moved back to the US. I'd be bored, probably. However, living outside the US makes it extremely difficult to fight, because it's a huge expense to fly me back. In the case of the AFL, I'll fly in on Tuesday so I can get medicals done. I'll fight on

Saturday, leave on Sunday, and get back to Japan on Monday (because of the time lag, I lose a day). I don't know the press schedule or anything, but I suspect the day after I arrive people will interview me. I'll make the trip alone. My coach from my American gym, "New England Submission Fighting" (www.nesf.tv) Kirik Jenness, (owner of mixedmartialarts.com) will come corner me the day of the fight.

J : Tell me about your early experience training MMA in New England

and competing in NAGA tournaments, which my family friend Kip Kollar started back in the 90's. (www.nagafighter.com) Do you feel those were a good training ground to prepare you for MMA fights?

R : I got most of my early competition experience at the NAGA’s. They were a wonderful and invaluable experience. I first only competed, and then helped out as staff. The guys at the gym would get geared up to fight, and go through circuit/gauntlet drilling. I learned how to

prepare for fights. Actually, I've been mimicking it nowadays by

myself, since the Japanese fighters don't train the same way. That's

a whole other story.

J : Who are your favorite fighters, and whom would you most like to fight that you haven't already?

R : My favorite fighter is K-Taro Nakamura because his technique is really slick. He has a strong heart, and you can't beat the "K" pose.

(http://www.wk-net.co.jp/hon/pro/k_taro/index.html)

Another favorite fighter is Kenji Osawa. His striking is really good and is excited by a good stand up brawl. I also admire Matt Serra and George St. Pierre. Megumi Fujii is my favorite woman fighter. I think she has slicker technique than most men, is really sharp, and I love watching her fight. She's also the nicest person ever. Amanda Buckner. We always seem to meet at fights, but not in the ring. Rather, we're on the same card. I think we'd be a good fight since we're both well rounded, with a ground base.

J : Many of your wins have come by decision with most of your fights

going all 3 rounds. Would you prefer to finish your battles earlier

via KO or submissions? In your fight with Shayna Baszler, a lot of people were surprised that she submitted you so quickly. Would you like a rematch at some point?

R : Yes, I'd prefer to finish the match by submission. KO’s are cool and

the audience likes them better, though. I think my strength as a

fighter is always pushing the action and switching from technique to

technique. I'll fight you on your feet or standing on my head against

the cage. Against Shayna, she certainly got me with that chicken wing shwing. In the back of my mind I wondered if I could hold out a little longer since she lost some leverage once we rolled over. But I had hurt the shoulder previously, and didn't feel like needing an operation, so I just tapped. If I had held out AND hadn't needed an operation, I would have advanced in BODOG and my life would be different right now. But that's life. Next time, of course, I'll sub HER with my own super-Roxy-submission-of-oblivion. Beware. It is under development.

J : Last but not least...what is your favorite music to train to and what are your biggest hobbies outside of fighting?

R : I guess I have a wide taste in music. I love Metallica, Drowning

Pool, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Nightwish. I also like Japanese

reggae bands like Fireball, and punk rock like "Maximum the Horomone." But sometimes, I just want to be happy, so I've been listening to Aqua's "Happy Boys and Happy Girls" along with sappy Disney music like Enchanted's "Happy Working Song." At this moment I'm listening to Gothic and Renaissance music. As for hobbies, I love watching Japanese anime, recently Death Note,

Naruto, and One Piece. I love Robert Jordan's massive series, "The

Wheel of Time." I've been reading every day for three years and three

months, and I just started the 11th out of a 12 book series.

J : Best of luck in your rematch with Tara La Rosa. This is one for

the record books!

R : THANK YOU!

Although the number of female MMA fans seems to be growing by the minute, the fighters themselves still deserve more exposure and respect. We are just beginning to see the surge of interest in a once male dominated field. Women have proven they can draw and put on a good show.  As more top organizations step forward to promote women’s divisions, their rise to the top will continue at lightning speed. Roxanne Modafferi will be there, ready for her next battle.

You can visit Roxanne at her websites below :

http://www.63fight.com

http://www.myspace.com/roxyfighter (where she has started a video journal)

Photos used courtesy of Roxanne~

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