Modafferi aims to keep fighting awkward and make it work

Roxanne Modafferi started fighting back in 2003 and a year later, she was 5-0. Ten years later she was on a six-fight losing streak. However, a move from Japan back to the United States and specifically to John Woods’ Syndicate MMA revived The Happy Warrior’s career. Modafferi is 5-2 since then, and is coming off a submission win over Priscila de Souza in April.

Saturday night she fights Sarah D’Alelio at Invicta FC 23, and is excited for the test.

My drive is still as strong as it has ever been, said Modafferi to Mick Hammond for MMAWeekly.com. 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.

I think my style is still very similar to what it used to be. 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.

[D’Alelio] is a tough opponent. 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.

I never really started fighting for money, however at this point it would be able to save some money instead of making due. 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.