Roxanne Modafferi: 2016 loss to Jennifer Maia lives in back of my mind ... 'whispering'

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SAN ANTONIO – Despite the bookmakers’ odds to the contrary, Roxanne Modafferi continues to prove people wrong. In her last outing, Modafferi (23-15 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was almost a 3-to-1 underdog, but it didn’t stop her from defeating Antonina Shevchenko.

A slight underdog heading into UFC on ESPN 4 vs. Jennifer Maia, Modafferi will look to continue her upset streak.

“I actually checked my Tapology page, and I noticed they have a statistic showing how often you were an underdog and how often you were the favorite,” Modafferi told MMA Junkie. “I think since 2010, which is nine years ago, I’ve been the underdog every single time except one fight, Maryna Moroz. She was relatively unknown. Every single time I’m the underdog.”

One good thing that comes out of having a plus sign next to her name in the books is that her friends get to earn a little extra cash, Modafferi said.

“I’m just so used to it and I started telling my friends, ‘Hey, bet money on me, because then you’ll probably win,’” Modafferi said, “So, it’s kind of annoying because I am ranked number five or six now. ‘Oh you’re such an underdog,’ or, ‘Last fight was such an upset.’ I’m like, was it really a huge upset? Whatever. I’m just excited to fight. Every fight poses its own challenge for me personally.”

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Modafferi will face former Invicta champion Maia on Saturday night. The bout against Maia (16-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will be a rematch of their September 2016 bout at Invicta FC 19. Modafferi suffered a loss that night, but believes she’s improved since.

“It lives in the back of my mind and my memory whispering, ‘What could you have done? You lost,’” Modafferi said of their first meeting. “I always get by my losses by just going back to the gym and improving, so I know I’m a different person now then I was when I lost. Now that I achieved that three years, I’m going to show it.”

“The Happy Warrior” later added, “I think the change is that my striking is better. I think she’s improved as well, but I’m still confident that I can take her down and do my jiu-jitsu on her. All of my students will be watching me – my jiu-jitsu kids. So, I have to show them some of the stuff I did in training, so I can be like, ‘Hey, you see that XYZ pass? I did that.”

For more on UFC on ESPN 4, check out the MMA schedule.

Gallery

Roxanne Modafferi def. Barb Honchak at TUF 27 Finale: Best photos

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