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Modafferi's Soaring to the Top of Women's MMA By Joe Hall
The 22-year-old had noticed HOOKnSHOOT promoter Jeff Osborne searching for female fighters on The Underground Forum. She e-mailed him in hopes of landing a spot in his upcoming women's event, "Evolution," but the card was full by the time she got through. Modafferi booked a flight to Evansville anyway, figuring, if nothing else, she'd compete in the grappling tournament scheduled the day after the show. In the meantime, she persisted with Osborne and the possibility that he could work her onto the card. Then, three weeks out from the event, several fighters fell injured or incapable of fighting. One was Howe's scheduled opponent. As Osborne struggled to patch the card together, Modafferi volunteered to step into the co-main event against Howe. Osborne hesitated at first, she says. At 12-0, Howe was undefeated through six years of MMA competition. Modafferi, on the other hand, had been fighting for about a year and held a 3-0 record. From that standpoint, it looked like a mismatch. After asking around about Modafferi, however, Osborne put the bout together. Roxy can beat Howe, he was told. Modafferi's interest in fighting had been sparked by the "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" television show. Seriously. Something about taking out bad guys intrigued her. When she first saw mixed martial arts, though, she was taken aback by the violence. Fighting was something she never thought she could do, but her perspective changed through training. The cerebral aspect of MMA eventually overtook the violent side of the sport, and the thrill of testing herself soon lured her into the ring. Modafferi made her debut in Smack Girl, a Japanese women's event, while she lived in the country as an exchange student in the University of Massachusetts's study abroad program. She armbarred her opponent in 1:58 and was instantly hooked into the fight game. "I just thought it was so cool that I actually did it," says Modafferi. "(Fighting) was the ultimate test of my skills." About a year later, on the sixth of this month, she stepped into the ring against Howe as a significant underdog. Surprisingly, Modafferi stood and struck with her heavy-handed opponent early in the first round. Although Howe threw the harder, crisper punches, Modafferi effectively used kicks to keep her foe from teeing off. Then, when the opportunity was right, she shot under Howe for a takedown. On the ground, Modafferi found herself caught in a deep triangle choke. She'd been caught in the choke a "million" times, though, by her training partners at Amherst Athletic Club, which conditioned her to stay calm and create space to maneuver. "I knew I was going to get out," she says in reflection. And once she freed herself, the fight was hers. All along the strategy had been to work Howe down to the ground. Through the early exchanges on the feet, Modafferi discovered how to do it. Each time she kicked, Howe closed in with punches. The plan became to kick, wait for Howe to counter with her hands, and then shoot under her punches for a single leg takedown. It worked flawlessly. At the end of the second round, which she had spent mostly in side control, Modafferi smiled all the way back to her corner. It wasn't an arrogant grin; it was simply the elated expression of a young fighter on the verge of something big. "I was pretty happy," she says. "I felt like I did have the advantage on the ground. And I could get the single leg relatively easily, so I thought if I could keep doing that, I could win…. I felt like she was getting a little bit tired too, and I have good stamina, so I was also really happy about that. Plus, the fight was just fun. I love the game; I love the fighting." The final five minutes were no different. Modafferi disappeared under Howe's strikes and put her on her back several times in the round. Her game from the top was tight, technical and patient. She was never close to a submission, but Howe was never close to escaping back to her feet either. Each time the fighters were stood by the referee, Modafferi shot for the single and took Howe right back down. In the end, Modafferi earned a unanimous decision. At just 22, she had beaten the woman widely regarded as the best in the world. Of course, Modafferi didn't know Howe was that acclaimed. She knew her opponent was very good, but it wasn't until after the fight that she learned of Howe's top stature. "Oh," she replied after being told. "Okay." Now, a week later, she's still struggling to comprehend the significance of her accomplishment. Two days after her win, Modafferi was back at UMASS, where she's a senior, straining to focus on her studies. "I keep replaying the fight in my head," she says. "I can't stop looking at pictures. I'm trying to get back to my school, and it's kind of hard to concentrate." With the win over Howe, some have named Modafferi the top pound-for-pound women's fighter in the world. She remains humble in victory, however, and is refusing that title. "I feel like I have to fight everybody before I can be known as the best in the world," she says. "I'm not accepting that title until I go through a lot more people." Like many 22-year-olds, Modafferi is ripe with ambition. She wants to return to Japan to take on their best women, and she wants to challenge some of Europe's best, and she wants a piece of Debi Purcell, who's considered among America's best female fighters. She wants all those things for one reason: "So I can call myself the No. 1 fighter." And when she can do that, says Modafferi, she really will be the best. |
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