Roxanne Modafferi is eager to finally share the Octagon with Lauren Murphy.
Ever since the two were on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26’ together they knew their paths would cross. The two have called out each other frequently and on June 20, they will finally get the chance to fight one another. For Modafferi, it is exciting, especially due to the fact she knows Murphy will make weight.
“I am very glad. I’ve been wanting to fight her for a while and we’ve been kind of calling each other out, so I’m excited. That is part of the reason why I want to fight her so badly because I’m looking at other girls in the top-10 and so many of them have missed weight,” Modafferi said to MMANews during an exclusive interview this week.
“I’m really not interested in fighting someone who will miss weight. If you look at my most recent fights, my only two losses in the UFC other than the title fight was against people who missed weight. I’m not saying that’s the reason I lost but I’m putting it out there. It’s important [to make weight] and unprofessional [to miss] and it pisses me off.”
The hope for Roxanne Modafferi is the UFC starts taking a point at the start of the fight if you miss weight. She believes that will make fighters try and make the weight or go to their natural weight class. Taking a point will also have an impact on the scrap just like missing weight does. Yet, Modafferi knows she won’t have to worry about that and is just focusing on her bout against Murphy. She knows the stakes are high for this one but says training for the fight came under unique circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I always want to fight as soon as possible. When the pandemic hit, I thought I have to stay ready and I was training in my coach’s garage,” Modafferi explained. “That being said, I’m kind of am happy it is this timing because I may have been physically ready before but now that the UFC has the procedure down I feel better about it.”
“It was really hard and a huge emotional rollercoaster all the time and super stressful,” she later added. “But, I can’t say enough of how supportive my teammates have been. It was cool to have that support.”
Entering this fight, Modafferi is currently the betting favorite, which she didn’t know until MMANews broke it to her. It will be the first time she is the favorite since her return to the Octagon which has her feeling mixed emotions.
“What! I’m so excited, kind of, I want my friends to make money off me,” she said. “But, I’m breaking my record. It is cool. There are now Roxy supporters who think I am going to win.”
For Modafferi, she isn’t sure how the fight will play out but is eyeing a Fight of the Night bonus.
“She is well-rounded. But, we are going to smash each other a lot and I’ll come out with the win,” she explained. “I’m hoping for Fight of the Night. But, I wouldn’t mind knocking her out or submitting her as long as I get the win.”
If she does just that, Roxanne Modafferi will put herself in a position to fight for the belt. If she has to win another she is fine with that.
“I just fight whoever the UFC tells me to fight,” she concluded.
