My win at UFC 246 did a lot for me
I wrote about my account of the fight in my Bloodyelbow found here: https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/1/29/21082100/fighting-future-roxanne-modafferi-talks-maycee-barber-win-thoughts-ufc-246-cerrone-vs-mcgregor
Man, my life is such an adventure. I feel like each week is a unique experience with eventful things, and emotional rollercoasters. I should be writing more. LOL I’m just so tired coming home every day, I literally don’t have the energy to write it all down. Right now, it’s 8:45 PM and I’m usually falling asleep. I had dinner with my friends Jack and Jan, visiting for a Keno tournament, so I’m still full and not sleepy.
My win at UFC 246 did so much for me. Obviously I made my show money AND win money, which is great. I was able to invest in my IRA, invest in a few stocks my father told me to for retirement, and then save the rest to live on for the year. I think I’ve talked about before how a fighter’s life change majorly as a result of a win or loss. It’s so crazy because with a loss, they may have put just as much energy, good training, and effort into preparation as they did for a win, but it just turned out that way, and they have to suffer for it. Thankfully, this was my night. Maycee and her father’s actions and statements actually kept us in the news an extra week, which was good publicity for ME, not for them, unfortunately. She’s getting a lot of hate now, which is kind of a shame…. I wish her a speedy recovery and a victory in the future, of course.
So I’m always the underdog, and it seems like the majority of fans on websites and social media keep saying “I’m going to get killed or smashed” just based on my looks. However, I think I impressed everybody those weeks ago because now even people on SHERDOG are saying my striking looked sharp, and I shouldn’t be underestimated. Sherdoggers have been the worst, IMO. lol I’m an Underground girl. Reddit’s pretty cool, too. Maybe I’ll read more sherdog now that they’re not saying nasty things anymore.
I feel like I had a lot of anime fans, nerd fans, parent fans, martial arts fans, hard-core old school fans, and NOW I feel like I got a lot of JUST BLEED violence-loving fans. It was what I had kind of hoped for and it ended up happening.
Our fight was on the ESPN TV spot, so it got 1.9 million views. Now, when people are taking polls as to who Valentina the champ should fight next, my name is actually coming up and people aren’t saying I’m going to get slaughtered. Uh, thanks! 😀
I took one week off from training to let my nose, and cuts heal. I skinned the top of my feet and elbows. They were actively bleeding and oozing for like 10 days. Not a big deal, but kind of annoying. I had to buy like 5 different boxes of different sized bandaids. My bursa of my right knee was swollen from banging into and rubbing the mat. Not a big deal, especially considering Maycee’s serious ACL injury. My right elbow had cuts all over it and was a little swollen and bruised from elbowing Maycee’s skull. At least it wasn’t the left one. That bursa is permanently damaged and once it starts swelling, it takes weeks to go away. I’m not complaining, only saying this so fans know what happens to fighters because I think people don’t talk about it much. I love giving people insight to exactly what we go through.
We had a photo shoot after my fight. Man, I gave all these interviews and then looked in the mirror…and was like OMG there is her blood all over my face, neck, legs, arms…. All that brown in the above picture is not a suntan. :/ Well, I know the devastation of defeat, and the ecstasy of victory. We step on each other to earn our success in this business. This is why we must always respect our opponents.
I always talk about my coaches so much because I was trying my best with no guidance with GOOD TEAMS for so long in Japan, but only when I got the proper coaches did I really start to excel.
My head coach John Wood is such a good sport. He always supports me with my fun weigh ins. I had gold hair and Majin aura for this one. 😉 Man, I wouldn’t be in the UFC if he hadn’t giving me the skill-set and training. I owe so much to him. I’d be still in Japan with a glass ceiling salary-job, with chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain, probably.
Lorenzo, my physical trainer, has made me so much stronger and athletic now, and kind of fixed my back, neck, and shoulders by strengthening the surrounding muscles and fixing imbalances.
Teri Wallace, my sports massage therapist, keeps me going with her treatments once a week.
And I can’t believe how much I’ve learned from training with AJ for the past five months. I was worried about his and John’s striking styles clashing, but I’ve figured out how to have them compliment each other. I wove AJ’s stuff into my MMA game, not to mention him having my back when I needed support in general.
Shout out to Shawn Dodoro for rearranging his work schedule to come in on Wednesdays to drill fight stuff with me!
Mike Pyle has been an integral part in my growth for jiujitsu. We didn’t train a ton together this camp, but he basically crafted my top half-guard and mount game, which is how I’ve been winning my MMA and jiujitsu competitions lately. lol
Syndicate kid students watched my fight, either at their own homes, or as a group. I think a few parents had a viewing party. Later, one sent me a video of the kids screaming in joy and going crazy and hugging each other after I won. I was so touched to see that! I know how emotional it gets seeing your coach fight.
So many thank yous.
This month following my fight has been great. Immediately after my fight, I try and do some things that either I didn’t have time for, or didn’t want to spend the money on. I went to the Top of the World (with Lorenzo) which I’ve always wanted to do but it’s expensive. YAY did it. I also went AX throwing. AJ went with me! It was SO FUN! 😀
Also lots of Mexican restaurants with my friends.
I’m the Happy Warrior but I’m not always happy. Things bug me and upset me.
None of us are perfect. People drop the ball sometimes. We all do our best. I need friends and teammates sometimes to help uplift me, and I’m so grateful that I have them. I don’t even have to ask. They just seem to know. John has given me lots of psychological advice. He’s my sports psychologist. lol
I always feel so strong and confident going into my fights because know I put in the work, and he knows how to remind me of it. Serena can tell immediately by the air vibrations if I need a hug or something is up. Candy, my other bestie, messages me every day. AJ seems to magically appear if I need a nice chat. Helena and Serena have both held me while I cried in the locker room. Jeslen is the big-sister friend I’ve always wanted. Robyn. <3 Katie. Charlie. Especially Q. And more people.
How fortunate I am to have the best treasures in the world. <3
I could post so many pictures. I don’t have the space.
Oh, I gotta mention that my former trainer Michiaki (Kiuma) Kunioku traveled from Japan to Vegas to watch me fight! I couldn’t believe it, almost, until he showed up! I loved having him here. It was so crazy to me! I’ve dreamed of showing him around my town, my gym, introducing him to my trainers… I trained with him for a good five years. He went around the world to corner me. He supported me in my victories, and stood by me in my defeats, and my horrific 5 fight losing streak.
He said to me after my fight, “Roxanne, none of what you did in the past was wasted. It all had a reason. It all lead to this one moment where you fought in the Octagon in front of my very eyes, and won.” That was so cool to hear him say. He’s seen me go through a lot. Some people ask me, “Do you wish you’d moved back to the US sooner?” Well, kind of, but I moved back after being on TUF 18. I had met Miesha and Ricky Lundell, and they were the reason I chose Vegas, rather than California. Then I met John Wood, and I can’t imagine anyone else having success teaching me striking. Also, working in Japan helped me save up money so could live off my savings for years while I fought in Invicta and worked my way into the UFC again.
I feel so accomplished right now. I’m in the top five in the world again! I had reached #4 at one point. JoJo is #3. I’m surrounded by such great people, friends, teammates, coaches…. of course I have stressors. I have found some things as of late that I’m struggling with and need to work on. I feel like every day is an emotional roller coaster. I have physical pain every day from training. I just have to keep reminding myself of all the good things I have. Life is exciting. Life is scary. Life is a challenge. My life isn’t perfect. I’m just good at focusing on the positive. I definitely have things I want to change. I’ve been having to use my courage as of late. I don’t writing about EVERYTHING that’s going on in my life. 🙂
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