Jump to

MMA is a sport filled with burning questions. What’s the right way to defend an armbar? What’s the best way to cut weight? How many Demetrious Johnsons would it take to beat Francis Ngannou? Fortunately, former UFC title contender Roxanne Modafferi has the answers, in her Bloody Elbow exclusive column, ‘Dear Roxy’.

In our last edition, Roxy tackled a few more of readers’ burning quandaries on her non-training diet, fighters who refuse to tap to locked-in submissions, and she revealed her latest hobby.

This time around Roxy talks about when to pull out of a fight, her opinion on corners throwing in the towel to protect fighters, and her take on Power Slap.

Dear Roxy — Pushing through injury or illness

At what level of injury or illness would you make the decision to pull out of a fight as opposed to pushing through? – King Juice Pouch

Dear King Juice Pouch,

I’ve pulled out of two fights, one the week before, and one the night of. I still feel incredibly guilty about them, and that I’m a weakling.  The criteria were a neck injury and illness. My neck hurt so badly that I couldn’t turn it side to side or touch my ear on my shoulder. My neck had been in chronic pain those days, and I’ve fought through limited flexibility many times, but not that bad.

I was truly afraid that if she threw me on my side or rolled me over, I would break my neck because it wasn’t bending. It was in Japan and they always fight anyway, so they were pissed at me.  It was my spine though – the most important thing in my body, right? That one was easy, and the week before.

The other one was me getting food poisoning before Sengoku.

I had a fever and was dizzy, barely able to stand up. I knew I’d go out there in front of thousands of people, get punched twice, and lose. I felt weak, was shivering, and throwing up. I had to decide which was better: feeling ashamed the rest of my life for not rising to the challenge and having the fans resent me, or maybe get hurt in the fight, have everyone think I’m weak, perform terribly, be devastated by the loss. Nobody cares that a fighter feels sick.

I decided to not put myself through the fight. They made me enter the ring, the place I wanted the most to be, bow to the crowd and my opponent, and apologize. I have never seen that before, have you? It was torture. Then, I had to go back to the gym where my opponent trained because we both trained there a few days later totally fine because food poisoning passes quickly. It’s not even like I blew out my knee. I often wonder if I should have tried to fight anyway, but I was surprised how much like death I felt.

Dear Roxy — Corners throwing in the towel

What do you think would need to change to achieve more widespread adoption of corners throwing in the towel to protect their fighter’s longevity and career? How likely is this in a sport obsessed with toughness? –  Halestal

Dear Halestal,

Actually, I’m old-school and I don’t want my corner to throw in the towel for me. If I’m fighting, I understand the consequences. I know I could get seriously hurt or die. That’s why I call my parents before each fight to say, “I love you.” I don’t want my corner to rob me of my chance to make a comeback if I’m losing.  If I’m done fighting back, I should tap out. That’s the way out.

We do it in training every day. Thankfully, I never gotten beaten up badly enough that it was even considered.  It’s also the ref’s job to see if I’m not defending myself or knocked out. One day I purposely didn’t bring a towel to the fight. Coach John Wood said, “Where’s your towel? I might have to wipe your opponent’s blood off your face.”  That was a great response. 

However, if the ref is asleep, and I’m already unconscious while still getting hit, my coach should absolutely throw the towel in. That’s the only scenario I can think of. I think it’s good to be obsessed with toughness because it’s fighting, not golf.

The rules have been changed because it’s a mainline sport, and fighters are called “Athletes” now. But they aren’t making “Athlete” money unless they are top 5 in the UFC.  I wasn’t called an “athlete” until Shannon Knapp in Invicta, 2015. I remember that day. “What? I’m an athlete? Hahaha yeah right.” I’m probably wrong and just old.

Dear Roxy — Power Slap

Your take on PowerSlap. And the differences between MMA training and what they filmed as PowerSlap training. – Memoruiz

Dear Memoruiz,

I think Power Slap is … not what I want to watch. I don’t think it can be called a sport because there’s no defense or opposition to attacks, the slap thrown by the opponent. Is the point to see how bad of a concussion you can get? 

Someone on YouTube said he trained the same way he would for MMA except no groundwork.  I haven’t really watched more. But like I said in the Q&A above, if they give consent, then they can do whatever they want to their bodies, and the companies can profit off of it.

But, by giving consent, that means someone needs to tell them that every time they get knocked out, or hit really hard, they are getting little or big concussions which damage their brains, so over time, maybe a short time, it’s going to affect their daily life. If they don’t know, then it’s terrible and disgusting. If they know and do it, it’s up to them. I don’t find it entertaining because I’ve had concussions.

Jump to

MMA is a sport filled with burning questions. What’s the right way to defend an armbar? What’s the best way to cut weight? How many Demetrious Johnsons would it take to beat Francis Ngannou? Fortunately, former UFC title contender Roxanne Modafferi has the answers, in her Bloody Elbow exclusive column, ‘Dear Roxy’.

In our last edition, Roxy tackled a few more of readers’ burning quandaries, such as whether the MMA scene gives young women room to grow without being abused, how Roxy’s brain has fared after a long MMA career, and Roxy reveals some of her favorite fighters and also what she thinks about kickboxing heavy MMA.

This time around we’ve got questions on alternatives to the cage, the UFC pressuring athletes to fight “anyone, anywhere, anytime”, and how important she sees fan support now that she’s a retired fighter.

Let’s get to it.

Dear Roxy – Plexiglass UFC Octagon

How big of a problem is fence grabbing, and should the UFC consider using something other than the chain link fence to surround the octagon? Maybe like hockey boards? -dko84

Dear dko84,

I think that fence grabbing is a problem, but I like the rules they have in place. Personally, I think we should be able to put our toes in it. I remember the ref yelling at me for me trying to cage walk, but there wasn’t a way to NOT have my toes go in there when I flexed my foot.

I think one warming should be given, and then penalty afterwards. I think refs are too lenient with multiple warnings, to be honest. It should be one “oops” moment and then penalty for standing grabs. “Big” John McCarthy had a good point in an interview, though: “The first thing we’re going to do is give you a warning, tell you to let go of the fence.

If you let go of the fence, it’s like it didn’t happen. If you don’t, then we’re actually going to come over and hit your hand off the fence. If that doesn’t work, you will get a foul at that point right there.

If your hand came off of the fence, then it’s like it didn’t happen as far as we’re just going to give you the warning, but we’re going to go to you if there is a break and tell you, “hey, don’t grab onto the fence again.

If you do, from this point, I’m going to give you a foul…..” (but) If we took a point every time someone did something that is part of the rules as far as the way they’re laid out in words, we’d be having a lot of disqualified fighters.

People wouldn’t be happy about the fact that they didn’t get to see the end of the fight because a referee went and gave someone three fouls and kicked the guy out of the fight.”

That’s a good point. But I think fighters should try harder. I never grabbed the fence standing and I’ve had 50 fights. I don’t think toe grabbing is a big deal, but grabbing it with a hand to prevent a takedown can change the entire fight. I like how sometimes the ref will give a penalty and then I think start them from the ground position, but I never see it much. I think refs should be less lenient.

Dear Roxy – Taking Fights

How do you swing on the UFC unofficial policy that to be a company fighter and make big money, it has to be any fight, any one, anywhere? And how this leads to fighters fighting injured to receive a paycheck, or bringing in a bad/losing performance because they can’t tell Big Daddy they need more time to heal, or they simply hide injuries completely and basically go in knowing they will lose, ala Dillashaw in his last barn burner? How do we solve that problem? – From PG8GT

Dear PG8GT,

It has to do with power and opportunity, in my opinion. The average fighter has no power because we aren’t hired by the company – we are independent contractors and easily replaceable. If I don’t want to fight, the matchmaker will hang up the phone with me and call the next person, not even caring.

If a fighter wants an opportunity, they have to say yes or they’ll be passed over. I’ve always just accepted it because it’s always been that way with any organization, not just the UFC. I don’t think we can solve that problem with the current legal set up. There is nothing giving the fighters any protection or power. Organizations can cut fighters whenever they want, or put them on the back burner if they feel like it, and it’s written into the contracts.  

Dear Roxy – Fan Favorite

MMA is a pretty cutthroat sport with a large amount of rabid fans that can and will turn on the athletes on the drop of a dime. In terms of accomplishments in your career (pioneer, title challenger, title holder, etc) where does maintaining fan favorite status with the majority of fans being at your back to support you rank amongst them? And can you describe the difference in how those accomplishments feel now that you’ve retired? – From armchairwarrior69gourmet

Dear Armchairwarrior,

I started out my MMA career wanting to be the strongest and best in the world. Maybe everybody does. I didn’t quite achieve that, so sometimes it’s hard for me to recognize that I actually accomplished quite a lot. If anybody is good at reminding me, it’s the fans.

From day one, they’ve always had my back. I think 99.9% of my fan interactions have been encouraging. It’s rare that someone said something mean to me online, and I have a dozen White Knights all over the attacker for me. People tended to not turn on me when I lost. The UG (Underground Forum) guys have always been nice to me. Finally winning over the ruthlessly Sherdog crowd still leaves me feeling pretty happy if not incredulous. I really accomplished a great deal!

Jump to

MMA is a sport filled with burning questions. What’s the right way to defend an armbar? What’s the best way to cut weight? How many Demetrious Johnsons would it take to beat Francis Ngannou? Fortunately, former UFC title contender Roxanne Modafferi has the answers, in her Bloody Elbow exclusive column, ‘Dear Roxy’.

In our last edition, Roxy tackled a few more of readers’ burning quandaries, such as how young is too young for MMA, on theatrical presentation, secrets for boosting sales to regional MMA events, and advice for female fighters on resisting pressure to develop a sexualized persona for marketing purposes.

This time around we’ve got questions on whether the MMA scene gives young women room to grow without being abused, how Roxy’s brain has fared after a long MMA career, and Roxy reveals some of her favorite fighters and also what she thinks about kickboxing heavy MMA.

Let’s get to it.

Dear Roxy – Women in MMA

As a woman who has been in the martial arts scenes for a while, do you feel that the scene provides a good space for young women to grow and succeed without being victimized or set up for abuse or failure?  Many “counter-culture” scenes claim to be progressive yet perpetuate misogynistic views regardless. I’m curious if this applies to the MMA scene as well. – From freewaveCanada

Dear Freewave,

I think that depends on the gym and the teachers. I’ve been fortunate to get treated well by my instructors at all the various gyms I’ve been at around the States, and in Japan. I personally have been taken seriously and have always felt safe. Well, actually there was one Thai instructor who always told everyone to go easy on me and that angered me, but that wasn’t abuse. It was just annoying. In the defense of some men, I think some women come to the gym wearing skimpy clothes hoping to attract men’s attention.

That happens more in the general classes than in the fighter classes, but still. It’s great when everybody just wants to train and get better, but that’s the ideal situation. In regards to being victimized, yes, I’ve heard of certain teachers being accused of sexual harassment. I’ve learned that parents have to look out for their children, and we should all be aware of possibilities. I think overall, the martial arts scene is very positive.

Dear Roxy – Brain Health

Serious Question: How is your brain? It is really rare to see current and former MMA fighters talking about their mental health. – From KnowledgeFair

Dear KnowledgeFair,

Gee, thanks so much for asking! There’s a clinic in Vegas called “The Cleveland Clinic” that specializes in brain trauma studies for contact sports. They ask full-contact martial artists, boxers, and football players to come in for routine check-ups so they can study the effects of impact on the brain. Back in 2016, I needed a CT scan or MRI to get clearance to fight for Invicta FC. A teammate worked for The Cleveland Clinic and said they offered a free MRI and $50 if I spent 4 hours doing tests.

I was poor so I said, “Sign me up!” They scanned my brain and analyzed it. I did memory tests, where I had to look at words and remember them ten minutes later. I did reaction tests where I had to tap the space bar the second I saw a red circle flash on the screen. I balanced on one foot with my eyes open and closed. They recorded my voice saying something to analyze the speed of my speech, and if I slurred.

I did this three times, the most recent being last month. I knew it would be great for them to get a retired fighter’s information, especially after all this time. They want me to come back next year, but I’m done. Anyway, in this most recent visit, the doctor told me that my brain was exactly the same size (virtually identical!) as back in 2016.

My memory and reaction time was essentially the same. The doctor said the variants I noticed in the numbers weren’t significant, and I was above average for a female my age. The doctor actually shook my hand and said, “Congratulations, you made it out (of the sport) with a healthy brain.” I immediately called my parents with the news because they had been so worried.

Doctors say that players should be more informed. Brains can recover from concussions if it’s treated like an injury. You splint a broken bone, right? You need to take certain action for injured brains. Fighters aren’t educated enough, though, so that’s why those studies are done. Thank you, Cleveland Clinic! And go me! I educated myself about what to do after brain trauma in fights, and I successfully cared for myself.

Bloody Elbow merch available

Bloody Elbow is pleased to announce our partnership with Revgear. They have been a pioneer in the MMA gear industry and have grown into a formidable brand and true leader in the market. Revgear now have Bloody Elbow t-shirts, hoodies and hats so you can show your support for independent MMA journalism.

Dear Roxy – Favorite Fighter

Who are your favorite fighters to watch ? Male & female? – From Money-Firefighter

Dear Money-Firefighter,

Robbie Lawler is one of my favorites of all time. I cried when I got to shake his hand and tell him he inspired me to fight. We fought on the same card.

I love watching Raul Rosas Jr. because his grappling is sick, and I used to train with him at Syndicate. I love Gillian Anderson for the same reason – amazing grappling, and I trained with her on TUF 26, so I always root for her. Merab is an energizer battery and is amazing to watch. He was often at Syndicate when I trained. Super nice guy.

Actually, I love watching fighters I saw on The Ultimate Fighter because I know about their personalities and histories, and it makes it more interesting for me. Since I’ve seen so many fights, it’s harder to entertain me. I literally fall asleep if the fight is only kickboxing (since I don’t like kickboxing much). Even with Grasso and Shevchenko, I kept nodding off until it went to the ground.

Sorry, it was late and I’m getting old. Haha. Volkanovsky is awesome to watch. Justin Gaethje is one of my favorite fighters, and my coach on TUF 26. I’m also a huge fan of Jonny Walker.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Jump to

MMA is a sport filled with burning questions. What’s the right way to defend an armbar? What’s the best way to cut weight? How many Demetrious Johnsons would it take to beat on Francis Ngannou? Fortunately, former UFC title contender Roxanne Modafferi has the answers, in her Bloody Elbow exclusive column, ‘Dear Roxy’.

In our last edition, Roxy tackled a few more of readers’ burning quandaries, such as striking a work-life balance, personal sponsors in the UFC and whether the promotion should bring them back, the ever-popular topic of food and diet; what does eating like a fighter do to someone’s view of daily calorie intake?

This time around we’ve got questions on theatrical presentation, the appropriate age at which to begin cage fighting, secrets for boosting sales to regional MMA events, and advice for female fighters on resisting pressure to develop a sexualized persona for marketing purposes.

Let’s get to it.

Dear Roxy – MMA theatrics

Do you think embracing more theatrical elements of past MMA orgs would be beneficial for the organization? – Fibz again

Dear Fibz,

Yes. Flames. Smoke is pretty cool, too. A few times I walked out to a barrage of flashing lights above, and flames to the side. It was SO COOL! I hadn’t expected that. The promotion did it for everyone. I was trying to focus on the fight while walking to the cage, but thought, “Omg there are flames! And smoke! Omg, this is cool. I feel cool!”

Dear Roxy – Too young?

Do you consider 18 or 19 too young for professional MMA? — proxy13

Dear Proxy13,

Well, I’m mainly concerned with brain development. It has finished growing by the time a kid becomes a teenager. Then, it continues until the early or mid-twenties. A fighter should obviously be training hard before debuting as an amateur, and then pro, so all those blows to the head will be taking place while the young brain is developing. I’d say that’s not great. However, nowadays, fighters are entering the sport younger and younger, so the young strong ones are getting ahead early. I’d say the fighters should be educated on brain health and have an older adult looking out for them.

Dear Roxy – Ticket sales

Suggestions for boosting sales? Especially at the more regional shows/ level where you live & die by your individual ticket sales. – TehMilkMannTeam

Dear TehMilkMannTeam,

Well, word of mouth is overlooked a lot, I think. Tell your friends and have them invite theirs. Ask your teammates to have a fun night out and watch together. People tend to be more inclined to watch if they care about you, or have some kind of personal connection. Or you could talk smack really hard.

Dear Roxy – True self

You stayed true to yourself as the happy warrior. What advice would you give to young wmma fighters about dealing with the pressures to have an aggressive or over confident persona? Or the pressures of having a sexualized social media presence?  — somewhatfamiliar2223

Dear Somewhatfamiliar,

Honestly, sex is one of the things that sells the most. That route wasn’t for me, of course. You have to try to be interesting and noteworthy in some other way. My advice would be to find a way to stand out, either with a hobby you show off on your social media, personality, smack talk, or even fighting style. If you don’t want to give in to the sexualized social media pressure, don’t!

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

To help Bloody Elbow deliver more content like this, subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that began on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

Table of Contents

MMA is a sport filled with burning questions. What’s the right way to defend an armbar? What’s the best way to cut weight? How many Demetrious Johnsons would it take to beat on Francis Ngannou? Fortunately, former UFC title contender Roxanne Modafferi has the answers, in her Bloody Elbow exclusive column, ‘Dear Roxy’.

In our last edition, Roxy tackled a few more of readers’ burning quandaries, such as how many weigh-in costumes she has. She also got into the idea of the UFC as a meritocracy. And took a look at the path to getting a title shot and whether it should be made more obvious.

This time around, we’ve got questions on striking a work life balance. We’ve also got someone asking about personal sponsors in the UFC and whether the promotion should bring them back. And the ever popular topic of food and diet; what does eating like a fighter do to someone’s view of daily calorie intake?

Dear Roxy – Work/Life Balance

When you get to work in a way that you control, how hard is it to find a work life balance? — From squeeopolis2

Dear Squeeopolis2,

If you’re referring to me getting a non-UFC job, I’d say it’s hard but I love it. I’m a high-achiever with a lot of energy, so I keep planning things in my schedule during times I should be resting. I have to make myself lay down to watch anime or playing video games, because other than sleeping, that’s when I’m not moving. Now that I’m married, I prioritize hanging out with him to training at night, or seeing movies with friends on weekends.

I’m a teacher for English as a second language for adults (ESL) right now, and I work part time in the morning. In the evening, I teach kids jiujitsu at Tribe Martial Fitness and Martial Arts. A few hours in the mid-afternoon is when I do chores, clean, teach private jiujitsu lessons for extra cash, and spend time with my new husband. I train on the weekends and with my teenage class. I’m not sure why I thought I’d be less tired if I retired from fighting.

Dear Roxy – Sponsors

Do you think that bringing back sponsors on fight gear would attract better talent to the UFC, and incentivize young athletes to take up MMA? — From fibz

Dear Fibz,

Actually, no. To be honest, sponsorship declined a lot over the past decade. I heard stories in the past of undercard fighters making tens of thousands of dollars in sponsorships. Now, sponsors tend to mostly want to give “product” instead of money. We can’t pay our rent with “meal prep” or “gear,” though! It is indeed great to help save on a fighter’s overhead costs, but it’s nothing like what it used to be.  I remember living in Japan and fighting in Strikeforce in 2009. My manager easily got me a Sprawl shorts sponsorship and they sent me $500…

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

To read the rest of this editorial, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that began on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

Jump to

Unsure of the right path forward? Have a question that desperately needs answering? A burning desire for knowledge from one of the most experienced veterans in the fight game? Roxanne Modafferi is here to help with her latest ‘Dear Roxy’ column for Bloody Elbow.

Last time around, the ‘Happy Warrior’ brought her voice to questions about the UFC as a viewer friendly product; went back to school with another lesson in MMA math; and the ever present queries about eating like a fighter and how to do it right.

This time around readers had questions about cosplay, the meritocracy of the UFC, and whether or not the promotion should create a clearer path to title contention for fighters. If you’ve got your own questions to ask, submit them to basilisk875@yahoo.com, or drop them in the comments below.

Dear Roxy – Costumes

How many cool costumes have you got? – From Krzysztof_Khan

Dear Krzysztof,

Oh my goodness! A huge box full! Mileena, Kitana (and both their weapons), Jedi and Sith robes, Mario, Wario, She-Ra and her sword, The Red Ranger, various wigs, Naruto Nine-tails mode, Goku, Vegeta’s shirt, All Might, Naruto from Shippuden, Spider-girl, Luffy, Goku’s jiujitsu gi, Princess Leia, Kakashi’s shirt, The Flash’s shirt, maybe more but I forget. I started cosplaying for Invicta weigh-ins to be like Japanese fighters who came out with flashy entrances, and never stopped! I managed to get something in even with the UFC’s strict rules (usually wigs).

Dear Roxy – UFC meritocracy

How do you feel about the UFC as a meritocracy? First and foremost they are an entertainment business, but lately have seemed to struggle balancing a level of fairness in deciding the title shots. Do you agree, what are your thoughts? — From GenericTopComment

Dear GenericTopComment,

I agree with you! I feel like the UFC is only partially a meritocracy (“a system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement”).  Yes, fighters rise in the rankings and approach the title when they win. However, there is no set formula for this. Rankings are voted upon by a board of media members. The match maker can offer whatever match he feels like, depending on not only wins, but styles, popularity, and entertainment value.

The UFC is trying to sell pay-per-views and TV viewership. They want to give the fans what they want to see. I don’t necessarily disagree completely, but it is unfair to fighters. A quiet guy might be super talented, whereas a boisterous smack-talker might get catapulted to the front because people are interested. You can’t train harder not to be shy.

I feel like some fighters get title shots so soon, while others have to grind and win many many fights in a row to get the shot. It’s super hard to break into the top ten because the top ten are well-known and tend to just keep fighting each other!

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

To read the rest of this editorial, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that began on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

Jump to

Have a question that desperately needs answering? Roxanne Modafferi is just the person to take it on. The ‘Happy Warrior’ is back once again digging in to reader quandaries over fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time around we tackled recovery protocols; how to get back to fighting shape after a bout. We also looked at fan appreciation and the differences between fighting in smaller shows around the world and competing on MMA’s biggest stage in the UFC. And we looked at MMA management; what it means to have a good manager, and how to find one.

This time around, we’re tackling the UFC as a product from the consumer standpoint; is it still the best in the world? We’ve also got fun with MMA math, and what it’s like being a ‘former fighter’; how hard is it to give up the game? To wrap it all up we’ve got more questions about diet and what to eat on fight day.

Dear Roxy – UFC vs. the world

Do you agree/disagree that the UFC product has fallen off a little bit, or are other orgs starting to catch up? especially ONE. — From OneSeraph

Dear One,

I’m not sure, honestly. I heard someone say that the UFC is the best promoted organization, but not necessarily the best. I mainly follow the UFC because it was my dream to fight in it, and most of my friends fight in it. I’d be interested in watching, for example, Bellator, but I don’t want to subscribe to Showtime.

I don’t watch OneFC because of the time difference. I’d have to wake up in the middle of the night or not go to bed to see it. I watch my friends fight in the PFL because it’s on ESPN plus, which I subscribe to in order to watch my friends in the UFC. I think there are highly skilled fighters in many other organizations, but viewership and marketing is super important.

Dear Roxy – The new MMA math

How many Demetrius Johnsons would it take to beat 2 Ngannous? — aroundmedianoche

Dear around,

I think three! So this past week I taught a private jiujitsu lesson to two sisters, 11-year old Scarlett and 10-year old Violett. I thought it’d be fun to have them versus me. Well, the bigger more skilled Scarlett pulled guard, and screamed, “Choke her, Violett!” Violet jumped on my back and sunk in a RNC. Scarlett grabbed my arms so I couldn’t reach up and defend the choke. It was a most excellent plan.

Luckily for me, I tucked my chin and Violett didn’t adjust, so I eventually squirmed out. Eventually I mounted Violett and tried to armbar her, but Scarlett kept grabbing my arms so I couldn’t. Considering the high skill of Demetrius Johnson, he’d be more deadly than my girls. However, Ngannous is more massive than me, so the size difference between him and Johnson would be greater than me and the girls.

Dear Roxy – ‘The itch’

Post fight career options. Not just for you, but fighters in general. We see a lot of “past their prime” fighters keep fighting to the point where even we fans are concerned. Are they doing it for the money, or just because they can’t give up the sport? Is there a draw to the sport that you still fight personally? — From pilot64d

Dear Pilot,

I think every fighter has their reason. I’ve read interviews where they mention “the itch” to keep fighting, or where they admit they need the money. I no longer have the itch. It makes me feel stressed just thinking about all the pressure leading up to the fight now. I have lots of losses in a row, and those are so so painful. My heart breaks every time I visualize them. I don’t want that pain anymore.

Sometimes I think I should go out there and try to get one last win, but my husband said, “You’ve already won fights at the highest level. What more do you want?” I mean, I want another win, but I guess that’s true. I’ve been saving my money so I can work the job I love and am good at – teaching! We get paid crap, but I love it! I’m really glad, also, that I don’t want to fight anymore. It would suck to still have the itch but be too old. Now I’m checking off life goal boxes. Adventure, check. Fame and fortune, check. Marriage, check. House….? Kids….?

Dear Roxy – Fight day food

What’s your diet like the day of a fight? How close to fight time do you stop eating entirely?  — From LearningToBee

Dear Learning,

Well, I’d like to have large, wholesome meals, but my stomach starts getting nervous around noon, and I don’t feel like eating after that. I am able to have a big breakfast, and I try to keep my tradition of pancakes for carbs, eggs, and nuts. For lunch I end up having a deli sandwich at Subway, or some such place, with meat, veggies and bread. After that, I bring bananas and granola bars to snack on for the rest of the afternoon and evening leading up to the fight.

To read the rest of this editorial, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that began on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Jump to

Once again, readers have questions, Roxanne Modafferi has answers. The ‘Happy Warrior’ is back tackling anything and everything from training, and fighting, to diets, anime, or general life skills in her ‘Dear Roxy’ column for Bloody Elbow.

Last time around, we fielded questions about hard sparring and how much is enough. We also talked about competitive spirit, and what it’s like to leave a lifetime of sporting behind. We also talked about the draw to return to the cage and make one more go at it all.

In today’s mailbag, we’ve got questions about recovering during training camp. What it feels like to have put so much work into a fighting career at a time when the biggest stages weren’t available. And also, how to choose the right kind of manager in a business that seems filled with shady characters.

Dear Roxy

During training camp, what recovery protocols do you engage in? — SquidDrive

Dear SquidDrive,

My entire life was a training camp because I always wanted to be ready for a last minute fight. Funny enough, I never actually got offered a last minute fight, which is kind of a shame because I worked insanely hard to stay prepared. That made it easier to get ready for fights, though, because I could work on preparing game plans for my opponent rather than worry about getting back into shape from an out-of-shape state.

I took an ice bath for a minimum five minutes after hard training sessions (which was most of them). I didn’t learn about this method until around 2014. I started doing yoga around the same time because my body felt broken 100% of the time, and my rival and friend Tara LaRosa swore by it. People had been telling me for years to try yoga but finally when a fellow fighter said it helped her back pain, I gave it a try. I’ve been doing a mini-yoga session every day since then. It’s basically my stretch routine.

So yes, ice baths, hot yoga, and also sports massage for thirty minutes every Sunday. I also only started doing that in 2015 when I learned these recovery techniques. Before all this, my life was constant pain but I didn’t know any better.

Dear Roxy

Does it bother you at all that your prime was spent fighting in relative obscurity? The enduring memory of Roxanne Modafferi will undoubtedly be the ‘UFC run Roxy’, but there was once a time you were on top of the sport on the women’s side. Do you ever wonder about how things might be different for you if the sport was more widely accepted on the women’s side back then? — AdambuddySokoudjou

Dear Adambuddy,

Actually, I’m glad I started and finished fighting in the age that I did. I don’t think I was in relative obscurity, to be honest. Tons of people know me from my earlier days; newer fans only know my UFC career. I had people mailing me letters when I was still living in Japan, so that’s how I know.

I’m happy to be counted as a pioneer by hard-core fans. As you may have noticed, I’m not a natural athlete. I’m just a dork who trains really hard. My best strength is persistence and pain tolerance. Nowadays, fighters are turning into “super athletes.” Athletic types are finding out that MMA offers money now, whereas before it didn’t, so why would athletes enter the fight world in the past? Now they have reasons. It used to be only for martial artists and brawlers.

My body type has a hard time holding onto muscle—I’m quick, I have endurance, and I’m skilled in jiujitsu, but I think that would have made me average by today’s standard. If I started training today, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into the UFC in the near future. However, fifteen years ago, I could get by not doing any strength training (and in fact I felt broken half the time). But, because I had better endurance and jiujitsu, I could win fights and make a career. I regret nothing.

To read the rest of this editorial, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions there fund Bloody Elbow during its transition from being a Vox Media property to an independent publication (a change that began on April 1, 2023). Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain in tact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Substack or BloodyElbow.com. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

In our last column, we tackled questions about MMA Math, and whether it’s actually a useful concept. We also looked at when to know enough is enough, and it’s time to retire. And we answered questions about USADA testing and fighters leaving the pool to recover from injuries, as well as pre-fight nerves—just how bad are they?

In this week’s column, we’ve got questions about hard sparring and how much of it fighters should do, when they should back off, and how they balance the need with the cost. We’re also looking at the competitive spirit, and how much fighters miss the game once they’ve left it. And how strong is the pull to come back and take just one more fight?

Dear Roxy: How far out from fight night do you stop sparring?

Dear Roxy,
How many weeks pre-fight do you drop off in intensity during fight camp spars? What do you think of some fighters (Max Halloway) that are rumored to just never hard spar? How do you handle trying balance the intensity of the spar with aches and pains that might be on the brink of turning into a genuine injury?—Derps with ducks

Dear Derps with Ducks,

I sparred my last hard round on the Thursday the week before my fight, because that was sparring day at Syndicate. That’s ten days before the fight, if it were to happen on Saturday. Then Friday would be my last hard strength and conditioning session where I’d go 100% to exhaustion and muscle-fatigue. That’s nine days before. I’d take Saturday and Sunday off where I’d just jog and do yoga.

Then the Monday of fight week I’d do light cardio and drilling technique with my coach and the team.  As you may have guessed, I wanted my body to recover somewhat without losing my hard-earned cardio. I wanted to stay sharp. I also wanted to have enough time to heal from something like a muscle pull if it happened in my last sparring session.

Regarding balance, that’s the hardest thing to know for a fighter. I wanted to push myself to the brink of injury without actually injuring myself. Something always hurt and I was always tired. Something was always slightly injured. Maybe I sprained my neck and couldn’t turn it to the left. My left shoulder constantly had tendonitis, and it always hurt to throw jabs. I just bit the bullet and did it anyway.

Dear Roxy: What do you miss most about competing?

Dear Roxy,

It’s been a year or so since your retirement. What do you miss the most about competing and what do you enjoy the most about retirement?—One Championships Hill

Dear One Champ,

I miss testing my skills against opponents in competition. I want to know if my techniques work against a fully resisting opponent my size and similar skill. That’s the only thing I miss. I love not having to choose violence every day. Also, I felt so much pressure fighting later in my career. I was always afraid that if I lost a fight, I could get cut from the promotion. I wouldn’t get paid half my potential fight purse.  There is no mercy in the fight business.

Since training was the only thing I was doing, I felt like every fight was the culmination of hours and minutes of my life for the past months and years. It felt wasted if I didn’t win. I felt like I was staking my self-esteem on my performance and wins, so I got terribly depressed and worthless when I lost. It was incredible pressure that I got used to. Now I can feel the lack of it, and I don’t miss it. Fans are still nice to me and supportive on social media and in person, so that’s really nice. It seems you guys haven’t forgotten me yet!

Read the rest of this post FOR FREE on Bloody Elbow’s Substack

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

It’s been a minute since the last one, but back in late January, we took a look at injury rehab and recovery, nutrition supplements, and sparring frequency. We also answered questions about camp management, and finding the perfect ration of cardio & strength training alongside drilling technique.

This time around we’re tackling one of the sport’s longest running topics: MMA Math, does it work? We’re also looking at retirement, how to know when enough is enough, and the recent trend of fighters dropping out of the USADA pool to recover from injuries. Also: Nerves just how bad to fighters get ‘em?

Help Build the New BE!

Bloody Elbow is now on Substack.

Subscribe!

Dear Roxy,

Does MMA math work for professional fighters? If you are scheduled for a match with Fighter A, and both of you have fought Fighter B, can you extrapolate any information from that, or you only really know what you’re in for when the cage door closes? — Peter K

Dear Peter K,

Well, if I am fighting someone, I will watch their previous fights and see how their skillset matches up against someone I know, so it’s helpful to me, yes. In terms of A beat B, and B beat C, so A should beat C. No, MMA math like that does not work at all. I believe each fighter matches up with another differently. For example, I think that only Holly Holm was able, at that time, to defeat Ronda Rousey because of Holly’s unique abilities: her evasive movement, defensive wrestling, striking counters, and offensive counters. Lots of other types of fighters had faced her but to no avail. It’s interesting to try MMA math, but that is not the scientific method—there are too many variables. You also can’t recreate the same fight between two people, although they can be similar. Fighters are human beings. Some days we wake up feeling great, sharp, and ready. Others, not so much.

Dear Roxy,

With so many fighters fighting after they can no longer perform to their best, you seem to stand out as one of the fighters who left the cage more or less on their own terms. What would you say was the biggest sign that led you to commit to retirement? — Professor Big D.

Dear Professor,

Well, the first and foremost reason I retired was because I started getting headaches after hard sparring matches. I know we all have a timebomb, in a manner of speaking, which determines how much our bodies can take. I felt I reached my physical limit. Other than the headaches, I did feel that my peers were all gradually surpassing me in strength. I don’t consider myself naturally athletic and it’s hard for me to build muscle. I won all my fights with technique and good timing. However, it seemed like my peers had been matching my techniques and good timing, plus they were getting stronger too. I didn’t think I could improve significantly enough to surpass the youngsters and stay in it much longer. I didn’t want to start getting beaten up. Despite my last several fights being loses, I feel they were competitive and I can be proud of them.

Dear Roxy,

How do you feel about fighters dropping out of USADA in order to use PED’s to recover from a serious injury? – Mr Allergic to the Cold

Dear Mr. A to the C,

Well, injuries suck, especially horrific ones like the crazy bad leg breaks where the bones snap in half. However, I’ve heard that certain PEDs add muscle cells to your body and change your body’s structure in ways that stay with you even when you get off the drugs. Take Conor McGreggor. He looks like a different person—his face is wider in addition to clearly having added a lot of muscle. Is that fair for his next opponent? That’s way more than healing an injury. If a competing athlete wants to take steroids to heal an injury, they should do it after they retire and their career is over.

Dear Roxy,

Chael Sonnen once told a story about a fighter who was extremely nervous before a bout and started coming up with a multitude of excuses of why they needed to pull out of the bout, and eventually they just literally ran away from the venue. Have you experienced or heard anything like that throughout your career? – Cyberslick

Dear Cyberslick,

Yes, but only in the amateur circuit. Fight nerves are awful. We go through lots of things that aren’t talked about a lot. Even me! I have fifty pro fights under my belt and am confident in myself. I still get periodic adrenaline rushes throughout the morning and afternoon of fight day. I get diarrhea from my nerves, and I lose my appetite. I can’t eat after lunch. I know people who throw up or can’t eat all day. Of course some people don’t experience that, I’m sure. However, fighting isn’t for everyone. I’m sure everybody gets scared and some people can’t handle it. I’ve had teammates on a local Vegas card lose their opponent to a “no show.”

Related

Dear Roxy – ‘What would you attribute your longevity to?’

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

A new year means a whole new batch of questions for Roxanne Modafferi and her Dear Roxy column, where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with readers’ inquiries about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time around we got questions about weight class designations and whether the UFC should consider adding more of them. We also looked at fighter nicknames, how they come about, and why you can’t choose your own. And finally, we took a look at Dana White’s Contender Series and whether or not it’s been good for MMA.

This time around, we’re taking a look at why all MMA fighters seem like they’re reading from the same script when it comes to pre-fight interviews. We’re also looking at the growth of women’s MMA, including the battle to find sponsors. And finally, longevity, how to make it happen and stay in the game for years.

Dear Roxy,

Does the ufc provide any script for fighters, ‘cuz usually you always hear the same thing from fighters, like “this is the best camp I’ve ever had,” or “he’s never fought someone like me.“ Its always identical. — Huntexlol

Dear Huntexlol,

That’s pretty funny you point that out. I agree, it seems like people say the same things. I noticed, too! I think it’s because we fighters do the same things to prepare for fights. We spar, wrestle, do strength and conditioning, etc, so the fans hear about the same kinds of training. We don’t go skydiving to prepare. We want to make everyone believe we are strong and ready, regardless of whether we are or not (some people even bluff if they are injured).

There are only so many words we can use to describe it, and lots of people aren’t original or creative. They hear others say these things and copy it. I’ve done it, actually.

My coach John Wood says, “So we’ll sit down, watch some film, pick out her patterns, and make a gameplan.” I said in an interview, “Yeah, I sat down with my coach, watched film, and made a great gameplan.” My usual chosen words are, “watch videos .” I never say “film.” It just came out. I remember making a mental note about that one day. “Why did I say, ‘film?’ Haha.” I think a lot of fighters say what they think people want to hear, and what sounds good.

Hey, Roxy.

Since you are one of the OG WMMA fighters I just want to ask what it was all like at the start of your MMA journey? Was it hard to find a camp, sponsors, or opponents? Would also like to hear what you think could be done to better developed and promote WMMA and MMA in general. To me, it feels like most people take up MMA later in life compared to other sports where they start at an early age so do you think anything could be done to get people on board sooner? — Podfather

Dear Podfather,

Yes, it was indeed hard to find anything MMA related in 2003 in the mainstream. MMA was pretty underground so fighters, competitions, and other things were few and far between. Actually, sponsors paid more money to me to wear their gear back when I fought in Strikeforce due to the law of supply and demand.

There were fewer opportunities and fighters, so the price was higher. Nowadays, there are so many fighters in various organizations, sponsors only want to give free product and no money. In regards to opponents, I almost never fought in my home city because women had to travel to face someone their skill and weight-class. When I lived in Japan, it was so hard to find a fight because the American promoter would have to pay for my international plane ticket. Actually, I may have been lucky I did MMA back then, due to the fact that there WEREN’T many female fighters, promoters were more inclined to bring me in, because who else was there?

You mentioned people starting to fight later in age and getting people started sooner. To be honest, I don’t believe that’s correct. I think nowadays people ARE getting started sooner. That’s why we have young ones like Maycee Barber, Raul Rosas Jr, and others aiming to be the youngest champions. Their parents probably watched the UFC in their youth. I think fighters are continuing to fight later thanks to advances in science, athletic development, and body care. I used to think I’d fight until 32 years old and then my body would be too destroyed to continue. I made it to 39.

Dear Roxy,

You seemed to have quite a bit of success against high level opponents during the back half of your career, especially compared to most other fighters. What would you attribute your success/longevity to? – From Mommydollars

Dear Mommydollars,

My super power is “perseverance.” I didn’t always have success against high level opponents, only sometimes. If I lost a fight, I would keep working super hard. I’d make some kind of change in my training to help me get better so I could win my next fight. I changed gyms within Japan, striking coaches, physical trainers, my schedule, massage therapists, MMA head coaches, moved my home closer to a new gym, and even moved to a different country! There are so many stories surrounding these things, I could write a book! Oh yeah, I did. Memoirs of a Happy Warrior II, available on Amazon.

I’ve done a lot of things with a single-minded determination to reach my goal of winning fights and hopefully making it into the UFC someday. I never want to do the same thing if I feel it’ll yield the same negative result. Me working to change my situations enabled me to reach where I am now.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

It’s time again for another batch of questions for Roxanne Modafferi and her Dear Roxy column, where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with readers’ inquiries about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time, we tackled questions about trash talk, gave a few thoughts about bushido spirit and the martial arts, and about what it’s like trying to maintain healthy relationships with the wide varieties of personalities in MMA camps.

This week, we’ll be looking at the long age old debate over adding more weight classes to MMA. We’re also talking nicknames and how to get ‘em. And we’ve got a few thoughts about the UFC’s latest hit talent scouting platform, Dana White’s Contender Series.

Dear Roxy,

What are your thoughts on creating a weight class in between ones where there is more than a 10 lbs difference? Like a 160-165 lbs class to get between light and welterweights? — deadguydrew

Dear deadguydrew,

For lower-weight fighters, every pound is more significant, since their total mass is less. It’s way harder for a strawweight 115lb fighter to lose one pound than a 205-pounder. Therefore, weight classes go up by ten pounds from straw, bantam, feather, and light-weight. Somebody decided that welterweight was a good time to start making bigger jumps of 15 pounds, which happens for a few weight classes, until it jumps by 20 pounds from middle to light-heavy. It’s unfortunate for those guys who feel small in the welterweight division but struggle to make weight for welter. They would love that middle weight-class, I’m sure. I felt stuck between bantam and fly for a number of years so I understand the struggle. I think the argument someone made was that it would thin the divisions if the UFC did that, but I see nothing wrong with that. It’d be a pain in the neck to remake all the divisions, I’m sure.

Dear Roxy,

How does a fighter’s nickname come about? I believe it’s not the fighters choice, but whose then? The fans? How does the whole process work? — huntexlo

Dear Huntexlo,

So all fighters want cool nicknames when they start fighting. I remember trying to think of a good nickname for myself when I first started out. I was on the train home in Japan with my coach and teammate who cornered me. I came up with dumb stuff like “The Tiger.” (Actually I can’t remember at all, but it was not great.)

The best nicknames are always ALWAYS given to a fighter by somebody—either their coach, fans, teammates, etc. It’s based on fighting style, quirk, how it rhymes with their name, or likeness to something else. Most fighters like their nicknames. Some don’t. My teammate Jeslen Michelle (PFL) said she wanted her nickname to be “Big J” but her previous coach called her “The Wrecking Ball.” Despite not loving it, she decided to stick with it. There’s always a cool “naming” story for fighters. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle is called that because his jiujitsu is so good, everyone feels like they’re sinking and can’t get back up.

I was there when Emily “Spitfire” Whitmire got her nickname on TUF 26! She doesn’t hold back her words, or in the cage. I was given my nickname by a fan on Myspace in the comments. I hope they know how thankful I am for giving it to me!

Hello Roxy!

As a pro fighter, how do you feel about things like Dana White’s Contender Series? Do you think that’s a good way to bring new talent into the mix with the vets?

It seems like Dana signs a ton of fighters who maybe get in the mix, and while it looks good for new talent exposure, it also feels a bit predatory and “throwaway” at times. Do you have any insight from the inside as a veteran that us spectators maybe don’t see? — From Reivers

Dear Reivers,

I’m not sure what you mean by predatory and “throwaway.” I think it’s an incredible opportunity for fighters to be seen and have a chance to join the UFC. I have multiple teammates who got into the UFC via the Contenders series, and I’m so thrilled for them. Natan Levy, Jordan “The Monkey King” Leavitt, and Jonny “Sluggernaut” Parsons are a few. It’s way easier than TUF, and cheaper for the UFC, I’m sure. Some people don’t want to watch a whole season and learn about people’s lives. They just want to see fun fights. I think it’s wonderful, and probably better than spectators think. It’s nearly impossible to get noticed by the UFC otherwise. Along those lines, I’m sure it’s very difficult to get a spot on Contenders, as well. I think it’s good there are several venues for fighters to get noticed.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back again with a new batch of questions for the latest Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with readers’ inquiries about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time around, we talked about MMA managers and how to pick one. We also talked favorite victories and worst losses. And how the game has evolved for women in MMA, as well as injury rehab and avoidance.

In today’s column we’re looking at trash talk and how (or if) the UFC encourages fighters to do it. We’ve also questions about bushido spirit and how the UFC could go about enhancing it. And teammates and training partners—how should a fighter handle associates who do and say things you disagree with, but who you regularly work with.

Dear Roxy,

How much does the UFC, Dana, or whoever influence the fighter to trash talk? Do they specifically recommend them to do it in a meeting, or lightheartedly suggest they do it? Or force them to or they’ll get cut or something? Have you been told to do so? — From huntexlol

Dear Huntexlol,

I don’t know how to talk trash, but I wouldn’t have minded getting some coaching on it! I feel like presenting yourself in memorable ways helps get the fans excited about your fight. I’ve actually done a comedy video with stand-up comedian Jamie Kilstein making fun of myself.

I think there are acceptable ways, and unacceptable ways to trash talk. Some people are inappropriate with what they say, and go above and beyond what’s necessary to sell the fight. But to answer your question, no, the UFC never encouraged me. I can’t speak for other people, though, but I think fighters just take it upon themselves and the UFC goes with it. I think most fighters could use some coaching on that, and also how to be the most valuable and vocal for the company. Some people just don’t have the personality to talk trash. There are other ways!

Regarding meetings, I never had any meeting outside of the normal pre-fight rules meeting. They have a few here and there surrounding International Fight Week because lots of fighters are gathered in one place. This past summer, my manager let me know there was going to be a meeting at the Performance Institute to talk about how to best use our social media to promote ourselves. I couldn’t make the meeting time, and I had just retired anyway, so I didn’t go. Normally, no. They never talk to us unless it’s to offer us a fight.

Dear Roxy,

In a perfect world, what would you change about the UFC to align it perfectly with a martial arts spirit? — Section80

Dear Section80,

I don’t think the UFC can really change anything. I can sense MMA moving away from martial arts and towards sports that have lost the intrinsic values of a martial artist. I think it’s natural, though. Martial artists are supposed to learn fighting for self defense, and to protect their lords of old, or loved ones. “Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war,” as the old saying goes. Now, there’s money in fighting if you get to the top, so “athletes” train for that purpose. I think there’s less spirituality in general. Everybody says on TV, “I want to kick the *expletive* out of (opponent’s name) and kill him.” They want to ‘kill him’ even though it’s a sport with a ref? Okay, sir or ma’am. There’s the difference. It’s not wrong, it’s just different.

Dear Roxy,

As the sport grows there seems to be more and more fighters saying or doing something to get eyes on them. Would this change your relationship with a teammate if they do or say something that you disagree with? — FluentPenguin

Dear FluentPenguin,

I guess that would depend on what they did. If it’s something I felt strongly against, I might be disappointed in them. However, that’s their choice to do what they feel they have to for their career. For example, Khalil Rountree destroyed the leg of Modestas Bukauskas with a kick that can only injure. I hated seeing that. It’s like a submission but the guy doesn’t have a chance to tap. That’s Khalil’s choice—MMA can be a business, and it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Some female fighters use their sexuality, some trash talk, and more. I might might try and distance myself emotionally from their fight persona, but still keep a co-worker-type relationship. I’ve had conflicting feelings about teammates for sure.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

]]> https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/12/08/dear-roxy-14-roxanne-modafferi-qa-advice-trash-talk-bushido-teammates-ufc-mma-editorial/feed/ 0 Bloody ElbowBloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/26/dear-roxy-13-roxanne-modafferi-qa-advice-column-fighter-managament-best-worst-wins-losses-mma/ https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/26/dear-roxy-13-roxanne-modafferi-qa-advice-column-fighter-managament-best-worst-wins-losses-mma/#respond Sat, 26 Nov 2022 12:30:00 +0000 https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/11/26/dear-roxy-13-roxanne-modafferi-qa-advice-column-fighter-managament-best-worst-wins-losses-mma/

Roxanne Modafferi has returned for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

In our last edition, Roxanne got into her thoughts on the ever controversial topic of fighter pay. She also gave her top secret tips on cooking for MMA made easy. And some thoughts about USADA’s drug testing program, the upsides, and the problems its caused as well. She even took some time to go into her own supplement routine from her time as a fighter.

This time around, we’re talking about MMA management, what is it good for? We’re also looking at the best and worst of winning and losing over a long career. And how the game has changed for women in mixed martial arts. Plus a few tips for avoiding and rehabbing from injury too.

Dear Roxy,

Which was your most satisfying win? Which was your most devastating loss? Was the Maycee Barber win in any way special to you? — Forvardrevind

Dear Forvardrevind,

My most satisfying win was against Barb Honchak. She had submitted me seven years prior in a match I thought I should have won, but she surprised me with her skill and strength. I finally beat her in the UFC, the world’s biggest stage, and by TKO.

My most devastating loss was against Laura D’August in 2005. She was the one who inspired me to go from competing in jiujitsu tournaments to MMA. We fought each other in grappling. I thought, “If she can do MMA, I can do MMA!” Of course I wanted to face her, and when I lost, I was completely devastated.

The Barber fight turned out to be special afterwards for multiple reasons. My head coach John Wood was so proud of me and praised my techniques. That was important to me. Numerous fans messaged me thanking me for winning them money on their bets since I was a massive underdog who won. I also got recognized by people who value the martial arts spirit because I didn’t attack her injured leg on purpose.

Dear Roxy,

As an MMA fan, I’m curious about the value managers provide to fighters. I understand they negotiate contracts and bout agreements, and I assume they help find sponsorships. What advice would you give a young fighter who’s deciding whether to have a manager or not? — From Negadelphia

Dear Negadelphia,

The value of managers varies according to the human doing the managing. There are things a manager is supposed to do, and then things he actually does. He’s supposed to find frequent fights, but no fighters get as many matches as they want, ever, because there’s a limited supply of fight opportunities. Also, is he working hard, and does he have a lot of contacts?

His job is to negotiate things: the value his fighter brings, the expense to bring them in, a good opponent, fight purse, are medicals paid for or not, etc. Managers should get fighters lots of money, but there’s only so much he can request or demand of the promotion before the promotion becomes uninterested in the fighter. The manager should find sponsorships, but those are extremely limited and nobody wants to give fighters cash anymore—it’s all about free products and advertising on social media, or print on fight clothes. Managers also take different percentages of the purse as payment—from between 5% to 25%. I’ve had overall positive experiences with managers.

Regarding finding one, I’d recommend using someone a friend or teammate uses and trusts. Otherwise, you have no idea what they’re like or if they have ulterior motives in any way.

Dear Roxy,

What changes have you seen in women’s MMA that are positive for the fighters, and what ass backwards changes that make your jobs harder? Also what differences are there between leagues overseas and stateside for women’s MMA? — From Zewvlf

Dear Zewvlf,

Well, when I started fighting in Smack girl in Japan in 2003, we had to wear puffy 6oz training gloves to fight pro MMA, no knees or elbows, and there was a 30-second ground rule. No matter if we were about to lock up a submission, we had to stand back up after 30 seconds. Now, women can do all the techniques men can. The only thing I’m unhappy about is how the most recent version of the Unified Rules de-emphasizes grappling. If someone gets a takedown, it’s not worth anything unless they strike them to cause damage, or get close with a submission. We used to get credit for takedowns and control time.

Dear Roxy,

What advice would you give to young fighters about injury prevention, rehab, and avoiding burn out? What are the best ways for a fighter to take care of themselves? – From Throwaway

Dear Throwaway,

For injury prevention and rehab, I would advise to do yoga, stretching, or any kind of recovery activity of your choice every day briefly, or several times a week more extensively. Honestly, I don’t get burned out. I always want to train. However, I make sure I get a certain number of hours of sleep, and the only activity I do on Sundays is taking a walk and doing yoga. Some people need a week of not training, or time in nature to recharge. I think everybody is different. When I feel overwhelmed and like it’s too much, a single day off will do it for me. I say young fighters have to train as much as they physically can. Unfortunately, muscles need rest to recover and grow, and we never give ourselves time for that. Part of me wishes I had rested more, but I felt like I couldn’t afford it.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back in the hot seat for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last week we dove into the stresses of being a competitive athlete and how it compares to the stress of day-to-day life. We also took a look at the unique experiences of training around the world, and the hidden world of referee’s pre-fight instructions. And as has been a popular topic in past editions of Dear Roxy, went back in for some more talk on fighters-to-corner communications.

This time around, we’ve got some heavy hitting topics, with questions about fighter pay and the show/win purse splits. We’re also talking USADA and the value they’ve provided to the UFC and their athletes. Cooking! Could I do it? And finally some talk about managing nutritional supplements.

Dear Roxy,

What are your thoughts on fighter pay? Do you think having half of a fighter’s payout gated behind a ‘win bonus’ is a fair system? If you agree that there are problems, what do you think the best way is for fighters to work for change? — From Rendakor

Dear Rendakor,

It’s easier for me to analyze my fight career now that I am out of it, for sure. I think that it’s logical to pay people according to their experience and performance. If they are new, they get the ‘apprentice’ wage, more experienced, the ‘journeyman’ wage, if elite, the ‘foreman’ wage, if we want to liken the scale to labor jobs.

Also, now that I’m reflecting on it, I do not think that the 50% bonus system is fair after all. All fighters want to win and they all try very hard. We know wins or losses are such a huge deal to furthering our career and paying bills that we don’t need financial motivation to win a fight. It’s not like I’m losing my third round and I think, “Gosh, I better stop being lazy or I might not make 50% of my purse!” It’s more like, “Well damn. I fought my hardest, but I’m concussed with a broken XYZ, I might get cut from the ABC organization. I can only pay my rent for two months instead of four. All that and it was a great fight, during which I performed well and did my job by making weight and training hard!”

I suppose this system benefits the promotions who pay losing fighters less. I always wondered about why, when I checked online to see fighters’ salaries posted, some veterans would get a certain amount flat. I think the win bonus should be more like one fourth of the fight purse. So now, people would get $10K to fight and another $10K if you won. I think it should be $15K to fight and you get $5K extra if you win.

Dear Roxy,

Did you know how to cook before you started fighting professionally? And if you didn’t eat out every meal, how did you deal with working, cooking, and training at the same time? — Hazmat_chimaera

Dear Hazmat Chimaera,

I cooked by throwing stuff in a pot of boiling water. Then I added sauce or dressing afterwards. I threw it in a Tupperware and took it to training with me for later. That worked with all fish, meat, and veggies. I loved trying out all the sauces I could find! It became fun for me, because that’s where my flavor came from. When I started dating my current husband, I suddenly realized how short-cutty this was, and insufficient.

I looked up recipes and taught myself how to bake stuff. My husband taught me how to pan fry stuff with butter, airfry stuff in coconut oil. Now I know the difference between ‘preparing food,’ which is what I used to do, and ‘cooking,’ which is what I often do for him. I must serve him the best stuff. Preparing stuff is super easy, and you only need boiling water and sauce. I still do it for myself for lunch.

Dear Roxy,

Do you think USADA involvement in the UFC is a net negative or a net positive for fighters? – fibz

Dear Fibz,

I think that depends on who you ask. Overall, it think it eliminated most steroid and PED usage. That’s a huge plus, and necessary. However, there were terrible terrible sacrifices from possibly innocent fighters. For example, my training partner ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor was banned from fighting for two years due to Ostarine showing up in a urine sample. It’s a banned substance because it’s often used to cover up other substances, but itself had no effect on the body. He claimed he never takes supplements for this very reason, and nobody could find out where the ostarine came from. He was about 33 years old, in the prime of his athletic career, and USADA stole those years from him.

Nick Diaz got a five year ban for marijuana, which is crazy because now the rules around it have been effectively changed to make it nearly impossible for fighters to get punished for marijuana use. I try not to judge things unless I’m an expert in that field and know better, and I sure as heck don’t know how to mask performance enhancing drugs. But I feel like the penalties are too harsh for some and not others (cough Jon Jones cough), and innocence could not be proved for some.

Dear Roxy,

What’s your protocol in terms of nutrition and supplements? – 3L1T

Dear 3L1T,

I liked drinking the recovery supplement called “RECON” made by the company MUSCLE PHARM, along with multi-vitamins. I take calcium supplements and iron because they’re good for women. Then I got USADA tested, and everything checked out. Muscle Pharm has all the stamps and seals of approval from various organizations that it’s safe, but after I passed USADA that one time, it became the only brand I would take, just in case. I’d take their protein powder and RECON after training, and that was it.

Other supplement companies tried to get me to sample their stuff, or offered to sponsor me. I was too afraid USADA would find Ostarine in it or something like poor Tom, so I refused all those supplement offers. Then one day Tom said, “We take things like Emergen-C and don’t even think about it.” I realized I was taking “Jet Alert” caffeine pills, but I passed USADA with them, so I stick to that brand. Thank goodness I don’t have to live in fear anymore.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back in the hot seat for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last week we talked about the future of women’s MMA and the new waves of athletes looking to make their name in the sport. We also talked fighting without the aid of glasses or contacts and why that may not be the biggest deal in the world. The column wrapped up with a detailed look at the kind of fight week prep that fans don’t get to see, beyond the saunas and the salt baths.

This time around, Roxy is diving in on the stresses of being a competitive fighter and how they do (and don’t) set someone up to better handle the stress of day-to-day life. We’ve also got questions about unique training experiences overseas and what referees are really going through with their pre-fight instruction. And we’re wrapping the whole thing up with some more details about corner instruction and interactions between fighters and their coaches.

Dear Roxy,

“How do the stresses of being a fighter compare to the normal stresses of living that everyone experiences? Does trying to beat the s*** out of people while they try to do the same to you make it easier to not feel as affected by things like your car breaking down or having to do chores?” — From OutsideMammoth

Dear Outside Mammoth,

Doing martial arts gives you fast problem solving skills, and the ability to find creative solutions. We have to make split-moment decisions on actions to not get beat up, choked out, or joint locked. With that in mind, I find myself able to readily and calmly handle issues that come up in my life. In regards to stress level, each life problem brings it’s own individual stress. Getting punched is just physical pain. Having a job interview or first date has totally different significances in our lives, and I feel totally nervous for them. Having my car break down SUCKS just as much as the next person, but I won’t sit and mope about it. I’ll efficiently take steps to begin the repair process without even making a mental effort.

I will say that leading up to my wedding, people are asking me if I’m nervous. I tell them, “No way! In this major event, I do not have to fight another woman for my man’s hand in marriage. I’m guaranteed a win! It’s the best!”

Dear Roxy,

“What was your most unique experience training in a foreign country?” — Guacamolito

Dear Guacamolito,

Here’s one funny story off the top of my head. I love vegetables and I include them when I pack a lunch. My mom likes to munch down raw, peeled carrots, and I follow the same habit. Japanese carrots are way more delicious than American ones! They are also really short and fat, with skin that’s thin, not bitter, and doesn’t need to be peeled.

Why am I talking about carrots? Because one day after pro practice in GroundSlam Japan in 2012, I took out my Tupperware filled with my lunch of chicken and rice, followed by my large raw carrot. Japanese teammates were was sitting around, stretching and chilling. Then, *crunch crunch chomp chomp.* I was pretty loud. Everyone kinda slowly looked over at me. A teammate, former UFC bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki in particular stared at me.

“Wow! Wow!” he exclaimed. “What?” I said with my mouth full of carrot. “You look like a horse!” he exclaimed, taking out his phone. “Can I take a picture?”

I laughed, nearly spraying carrot bits everywhere. A horse? It wasn’t even insulting because it was true. I was munching away, although Americans probably would have said “rabbit.” I let him take a picture and post it on Instagram. The caption read, “The American Roxanne eating a raw carrot after practice!” Apparently that’s odd in Japan.

Dear Roxy,

“What exactly do refs tell you in the back before a fight? Is it a totally canned speech, or does it vary depending on who you/your opponent/the ref are?” — golmgirlAl

Dear golmgirlAl,

Fighters all know the rules—except sometimes minor things are different depending on the states. The referees are required to remind us about certain aspects of the Unified Rules which may have been changed recently, or are often confused.

For example, the definition of a “downed” fighter was different depending on the state for a while. Previously, if you were touching the ground with one hand, whether it be your fingers or entire hand, you were considered “grounded” due to more than just your feet being on the ground. No kicks or knees to the head were allowed. Then, the rule got changed to your entire palm having to be flat on the floor in order for you to be considered grounded. Otherwise, if you brushed your fingertip on the mat, your opponent could legally knee you in the head because you were ‘playing games’ with the rules.

Refs always explained that, demonstrated, and also described what counted as the back of the head, ensuring fighters didn’t get disqualified due to the illegal shot. The refs asked us if we had any questions, giving us the opportunity to speak. They made sure we had a translator if the fighter didn’t speak English.

Dear Roxy,

I rarely see fighters come back to a corner in between rounds and say ‘I’m having trouble with these 2 or 3 things how can we solve them?’ It seems it is usually, but not always, a one way street from coach to fighter. How come more fighters don’t give input when they come back to the corner? — ColinMartyr

Dear ColinMartyr,

That’s because our mind is reeling from the violence of the fight and we are trying to catch our breath. Lots of fighters are too busy trying to physically recover to have an actual conversation. Normally, the coach has experience with the fighter and knows what they can say and how to say it to best help. We fighters expect our cornerman to be analyzing the match and give us new tips when we get back to the corner. I shouldn’t need to say, “Hey, this isn’t working” because they can see that.

However, you are onto something there. It would be helpful if fighters told their cornerman that they are injured so the coach can adapt the gameplan. Except if they admit it, the fight could be stopped.

For me, I don’t like strategy and wordy advice in my corner. I want my coach to say what combinations I should try next and leave it at that. I get confused if they try to have a conversation with me. It’s like being underwater and having someone above mutter down at me. I’ve run into cornering problems in the past so I make sure that I tell my coaches beforehand what I need.

One time during my career I came back to the stool and listened to paragraphs of advice. I managed to interrupt him. “Shout more combos!” I gasped. He looked at me funny, and I immediately felt embarrassed. I shouldn’t need him to shout combos. I’m supposed to know how to fight. I’m pathetic. Later, after I lost the fight, I thought, “No, I was correct to say that. My mind went blank, and it’s literally his job to help me.’”

Everyone’s mind works differently.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back in the hot seat for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last week we looked at injury stoppages and their impact on a fighter’s legacy. We also talked about tricks to stay motivated in training. And wrapped up with a look at the different types and quality of opponents from the various organizations I competed in over my career.

This time around, I’m addressing the struggle of being a pro athlete who needs glasses. I also give my thoughts on the future of women’s MMA and where the sport still has room to develop going forward. And I’m providing a peek behind the scenes of what fight week is like, beyond the UFC Embedded videos.

Dear Roxy,

“As someone who has to wear glasses everyday all day to function, I struggle in sports I play and even in muay thai when I did it. Did fighting without glasses ever bother you?” — vheran

Dear Vheran,

I get it, I quit softball in middle school because I couldn’t see the ball. (Plus the coach was a jerk). I’m nearsighted but I can make out shapes and body parts. I could probably drive safely, but just wouldn’t be able to read most signage. During martial arts class, I have to get close to the teacher demonstrating technique, or put on my glasses to see what they’re doing with their hands. That is pretty annoying. However, in a fight, by the time I’m close enough to hit somebody, I can see them well enough, so my vision doesn’t bother me.

Dear Roxy,

“You got my wife into MMA and that has my passion into a shared passion so I’m forever grateful. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of WMMA as well as your impact on it!” — HiiroYuyTeam

Dear HiiroYuyTeam,

I think in the future all female fighters will have high athletic ability. People who want to fight for fun without undergoing high-level professional training won’t be able to keep up with UFC-level fighters. I’m glad that I started fighting in 2003, because if I were to try to come up nowadays, I wouldn’t be athletically gifted enough to hang in there. As you can see, after 20 years of martial arts training, I’ve never had the ability to knock out an opponent. I think we’re going to see a lot of amazing fights that combine skill with strength and stamina, pushing farther and farther beyond what we see now. You are seeing it now; everyone’s a specimen. In Dern vs Yan, both women were shredded with six packs!

Dear Roxy,

“Can you write about some of the things that happen during fight week that we don’t see on embedded? Memorable things for you or more general things us fans don’t realize you have to do while cutting weight.” — Jesse Newman

Dear Jesse,

You want to know unique things? Well, a fighter should know their body, and I know that I go number 2 in the morning after breakfast. However, on weigh-in morning, I don’t eat breakfast. I still want to go number 2 in order to be lighter and have to sweat less weight out. Therefore, in order to stimulate my intestines to *insert melody* let it go, let it go, I chew bubble gum and take one gulp of “Naked” green vegetable juice to swallow a vitamin and half a caffeine pill. The pill bounces around in my empty stomach, shouting “Digest system! Activate!” The caffeine helps me wake up and is permitted by USADA. It’s also a mild diuretic. This combo works great for me. Sorry if TMI!

Aside from that, I am very strict with myself with salt during fight week starting on Monday. Foods with high sodium content cause a body to hold onto water, and if I decrease and eventually eliminate sodium, I lose water weight really quickly during my final cut on Friday morning. I try to cook my own food, and when I’m confined to the fight hotel, the UFC provides me with food. I request, “Grilled chicken, veggies, and rice with no sauce.” It’s often bland but the chefs have found ways to add homemade veggie sauces that don’t have additives in it to make it delicious.

I’m thrilled when I get asked for interviews, and lonely if I don’t. I think it was before I fought Viviane Araujo I didn’t get any media requests. Maybe it wasn’t a big fight in the public’s eye. Before Maycee’s fight I got to be part of the media interview scrum because she was a hot and upcoming star. Also before my retirement fight I got a lot of interview requests, which was cool. That made me feel loved because it wasn’t just that I was fighting someone special.

During fight week walking around the hotel and event locations, I often run into other fighters and their teams. I always know at least one other person on the card. When I fought Taila Santos at the UFC Apex, Lauren Murphy fought Valentina Shevchenko. We hung out in one of our rooms a bit and chatted. Usually we’re too busy and on our own schedule to hang out much, but passing by and saying hi is cool. Also, I fan-girled really hard when I met Robbie Lawler in the hotel lobby. When I cornered JoJo one time, I met Matt Serra. Those are my favorite fighters! How lucky am I!?

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back in the hot seat for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last week focused on whether or not MMA needs a ‘master’s division’, the possible advantages of fighting with extra weight. We also looked at PEDs in MMA and how much they’re worth the cost and just how much it costs to train for MMA at a high level.

In today’s column, I’ll be looking at winning via injury stoppage, and whether or not it has less value than a standard TKO, submission, or decision victory. I’ll also be talking about tricks to push yourself in training and what, if any, differences there were competing for the various organizations I got to fight for over my career.

Dear Roxy,

“Do you think injuries that occur during a fight should have any bearing on the legitimacy of a recorded win? It seems a general consensus that Curtis Blaydes didn’t have a large influence on the injury sustained by Tom Aspinall in their recent matchup… Should Yair’s win [over Ortega] be seen as any less credible because he wasn’t specifically applying an “official” submission technique targeting the shoulder?” — From Gokou9001

Dear Gokou,

It does feel like some differentiation should be made, doesn’t it? It doesn’t seem fair for an opponent who didn’t cause the injury to advance in the ranking. On the other hand—now, when I verbalize it—it also doesn’t seem fair NOT to give them credit. The fight is over, the last person standing gets the victory and the prize money. The victor trained hard for the fight, made weight (hopefully), and entered into the cage to do his or her job. Maybe that’s just the way it goes regarding injuries. Lots of fighters have fought with injuries and overcome them. Some can’t. I took part in such a match. Maycee Barber injured her ACL in our fight, and it hindered her. However, she was still dangerous, hit me hard, and almost kimura-ed me from the bottom. I can’t think of a fair way to change the system.

Also, it almost doesn’t matter. The matchmakers have certain fights they want to make and have total control over who gets title shots and whatnot. For example, Fighter A and B are fighting. The matchmaker hopes A wins because he has more charisma. Fighter A gets hurt and B wins, causing everyone to claim B is ready for the title shot. The matchmaker often just sets him up with somebody else as a ‘qualifier.’ The one who has the power makes the rules.

Dear Roxy,

“Were there any specific mental techniques that you’d use to push yourself through a hard training session? Also, was it difficult to keep your adrenaline in check during a fight? How long did it take to develop that skill?” — From Mr. Beavis19

Dear Mr. Beavi19,

Yes, more often than not, I had hard training sessions to the point it made me want to stop. Often, I worried that I would get injured if I kept going, or be too sore the next day to do anything. Mentally, I would call upon my pride to force myself to continue. “How can you live with yourself knowing you gave up?” I’d ask myself. “Naruto or Vegeta wouldn’t give up. You’ve never given up once, on your pride as a martial artist. This is how you become stronger, to push yourself beyond your limits.”

The unfortunate result was that I got hurt a lot, honestly. But this kind of mindset also allowed me to accomplish some great things. If I didn’t push myself for fear I’d get hurt, I’d never have reached the UFC level. Once in a while, I did allow myself some leeway when it came to my lower back and neck. I was more seriously injured with them at certain points, and it effected my daily life. However, I made sure to decide the degree at which I’d push myself BEFORE I began training. Otherwise, it would be a decision made in the pain of emotion, and to me, showed weakness of character. For example, “Okay, I have a budging disk so I’ll go to about a pain level “five” (out of ten) today.”

As for your second question, “keep your adrenaline in check during a fight?” I’m not sure what that means, or if I even do that or not. There is no ‘check,’ only effort.

Dear Roxy,

“As a seasoned mixed martial artist, you’ve competed in various organizations (Strikeforce, Invicta, UFC, etc) and in different eras (2003-2022)… How do the styles of fighters compare across different organizations? Similarly, how has MMA evolved over multiple eras and what new styles do you think will emerge as successful in the future?” — Taha Teke

Dear Taha Teke,

I think you are right, that MMA is evolving and different places encourage different styles of fighting. For example, Thailand is famous for great strikers, America is known for wrestlers, and Brazil tends to turn out great jiujitsu practitioners. Does that mean Japanese like to stomp heads? (Kidding…sorta). I think the dominant styles are emerging in ebbs and flows. There was the age of jiujitsu, then wrestling, then well-roundedness. We don’t always see a fighter win from bottom closed guard nowadays, whereas that used to be a great place to set up a submission. We don’t see wrestlers ‘lay and pray’ like they used to, by only holding someone down to prevent them from getting up.

I think the current trend is to have fantastic anti-wrestling or take-down defense (see Chris “Actionman” Curtis) and light up the opponent on the feet. The Unified Rules encourage this by being biased towards strikers, as well. They say takedowns, ground control, and positional dominance don’t really matter unless the taker-downer can inflict damage on the opponent. I might have won my split-decision last fight if the rules gave me more credit for my take-downs, and didn’t say that my strikes weren’t “significant,” while hers were. We threw almost the same amount of punches.

It’s true I fought in a lot of organizations, in the States and Japan, that didn’t have the unified rules. My grappling skills usually won me the fight, when I did end up winning. I admit I haven’t been watching world-wide MMA over the past five years, but I think dominant styles would indeed emerge around the rule-set of the promotions in the country.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi is back in the hot seat for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last week we talked about being sick & injured going into a fight, gearing camps for specific opponents, and how it feels the day after a big win or hard loss. We also got on to the topic of psychological warfare and how valuable it is to try and present a strong image mid-fight.

This time around, we’re taking aim that the idea of an ‘MMA Masters Division’ (ed. note: For real this time), how much a weight advantage actually factors into a bout, and the financial burden of high level MMA training. We’ll even spend a little time talking USADA and PED use in MMA.

Dear Roxy,

“How would you feel about a Masters Division for older fighters to face off against each other?” — 9inety9ine

Dear 9inety9ine,

Glorious idea, I love it. I would much rather see older, seasoned fighters fighting each other. The younger ones have a youthful advantage, despite the older ones having experience. I think youthful strength and invincibility is greater than experience. ‘Masters Divisions’ might be more evenly matched.

Dear Roxy,

“Just how big is the advantage of extra weight? Is it really worth the stress on your body right before a fight? How would someone fair staying very close to fight weight all camp then cutting just a couple of lbs on the day vs how everyone does it now, losing weight dramatically in the days before weigh in.” — namesbond13

Dear Namesbond13,

I think it depends on the person. Things are also evolving. Previously—late 1990s and early 2000s—nobody cut weight. Then—mid 2000s to 2020-ish—everybody cut a lot of weight hard. The goal was to get as tiny as possible and then blow up. Now, I think it’s evening out.

Many fighters are moving up a weight classes to improve their performance because how you feel matters on game day just as much as how much you weigh. Fighters are realizing that they perform and feel better if they don’t cut so much. I think that as fighters’ skill-levels are getting higher and higher, weight matters less than feeling good.

Dear Roxy,

I’d like to know more about camp costs. Like how much a fighter is usually out money wise to prepare for a fight. Also what does it cost to train at mma places like ATT, Jackson wink, etc.” — The_kite_string_pops

Dear Kite string,

Let’s see if I can do basic calculations. I don’t want to state precisely what everyone charged because they probably charged differently for different people. Let’s say each week I’d pay for private sessions: $50 for striking/mitt work, $80 strength and conditioning, $60 for grappling, $30 for a massage. That’s $220 a week in private lessons. Multiply that times five weeks, and it’s $1,100 just in privates.

I lived near the gym so I personally didn’t have a huge gas bill. I didn’t pay gym membership dues because I instructed kids jiujitsu, so that was part of my deal as an instructor. I would pay my coach 10% of my purse and then my manager a similar percentage. Syndicate used to cost $100 a month for fighters, but I’m not sure nowadays. When I was part of the UFC, I paid all that. When I didn’t get UFC money, I only did a massage once in a while, S & C once a week, and no grappling privates. During my last fight camp, I flew in training partners, so their plane ticket and car rental factored into my total fight camp cost.

Dear Roxy,

“If you took steroids (assuming you didn’t) how much better of a fighter do you could have become?, Or conversely if every opponent you fought was clean do you think you would have had more success in mma?” — From californication760

Dear Californication760,

Hah! When USADA started drug testing fighters, I used to joke with my friends, “Why are they testing me so frequently? I probably look like the one most in need of steroids.” This is because I don’t consider myself very physically strong and muscular. If I took steroids, for sure I would want to get stronger. I don’t have a natural athletic ability, and it’s hard for me to gain muscles. I feel like I lose them really easily if I don’t work out, too.

I like to joke that I wish I could have taken steroids, but in reality, aren’t they bad for you with negative side effects? I don’t want to grow a beard, get a weak heart, or something else. Plus it’s cheating. It sure would have been nice to not get muscled around in my fights, though. I have no idea who was clean or not when I fought them. I’m betting I probably fought some people on steroids, and maybe I would have done better if those bouts were more equal in that regard, but who knows?

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi returns for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time, we focused on the value of win streaks vs. name wins. We also looked at the possibility of a fighter’s union sometime in the future and how scoring is weighted for striking vs. grappling. We looked at the value of sparring and openweight tournaments too.

This week, we’re talking about being sick & injured going into a fight. We’re also talking about the possibility of an MMA ‘masters division’ for older athletes, gearing camps for specific opponents, and how it feels the day after a big win or hard loss. We’ll also take some time to talk about psychological warfare and how valuable it is to try and present a strong image mid-fight.

Dear Roxy,

“What’s the worst you’ve ever felt on a fight night and still won? How do you deal with losing?” — circusglimmer

Dear Circus Glimmer,

I felt exhausted and drained before my first TUF 26 (The Ultimate Fighter Series) fight against Shana Dobson. My menstrual cycle had just hit and I felt like I wanted to just sleep. Thankfully, I managed to get myself going before the fight and had a good performance. I won by mounted elbow TKO.

My neck was in a lot of pain before fighting Tara Larosa the second time in Moosin. Well, my neck, back, and shoulders were always in pain, so any victory was a triumph over those things.

I dealt with losing very poorly. I’m trying to be better about it nowadays. I feel depressed and low-self esteem for a while. I wanted the ‘me’ who lost the fight to disappear and go away, so I would train super hard so I could morph into a new ‘me’ who would be stronger and win my next fight. Every day I went to practice was one step away from the loser me. That allowed me to feel more confident going into my next fight.

Now what I realize is that fighting is not a scientific method. It’s not like doing a school project where, if you research and prepare, the result will be glorious. Someone is fighting you back, trying to foil you, and the outcome is a myriad of options. You can’t beat yourself up for losing if you prepare very well, go forth bravely, and do your best.

Dear Roxy

“How is the process of adapting in camps to counterattack the opponent’s qualities?” — Positive-Media423

Dear Positive-Media423,

It’s difficult because often the fighter tries and succeeds in improving, so weaknesses we see in previous fight footage aren’t the same. Every fighter tends to have certain tendencies, though. For example, when they throw a jab straight, they might drop their defensive hand after the straight. That allows for an opportunity to land a counter. I might practice slipping and throwing, or trying to kick.

I’ve had mixed results. My coaches prepared me to counter calf kicks and be ready for Casey O’Neill to rush me and take me down. She actually never rushed me, but she did throw some calf kicks.

We always try and ask training partners to try and mimic our opponents when we spar, to prepare.

Dear Roxy,

“I would love to hear about the day/week after the fight. When the lights and cameras go away, how does your mind and body feel? I imagine we don’t fully understand how it feels when your body is wrecked even if you won a hard fought battle.” — Huck77

Dear Huck77,

If I win the fight, I enjoy rewatching the fight, looking at pictures, and going through fans’ messages on social media. I love reading MMA news articles and soaking in the positive energy. I go about doing chores every day like I’m walking on cloud 9. I don’t mind any physical bumps and bruises.

If I lose the fight, I feel depressed. I try and hang out with friends every day, because I cry when I’m alone. I feel embarrassed to be out in public if I have a swollen face. I comfort-eat a lot of ice cream.

Dear Roxy,

“What do you think the importance of psychology has in MMA? Forrest Griffin said whenever a round ended even if he was dog tired even when his nose was broken he would run back to his corner and make it seem like he had plenty left so his opponent would think that. When you were in there did you ever try to psychologically effect your opponent or was it only ever physical and tactical?” — vatisitgrandpapa

Dear vatisitgrandpapa,

I feel that my emotions don’t impact my fighting too much. I tend to perform at a similar level whether I’m happy, under pressure, or something hanging over me. Who knows if my impression is actually correct, but I always attribute my losses to certain techniques failing, choosing the wrong technique at the wrong time, or the other girl landing more strikes. I have gotten frustrated certain things weren’t working that I thought were supposed to work.

Lots of people are more affected by things. That’s why fighters taunt or talk trash while actually fighting. Some stick their tongues out, shake their heads, smile, jump around to show energy, etc. I don’t care about any of that but lots of people do. Actually, come to think of it, when Casey O’Neill let out a battle scream during our fight, I got really hyped up in a positive way.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Roxanne Modafferi returns for another edition of Dear Roxy, the advice column where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe-with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

In our last edition, we focused on open scoring in MMA. We also looked at weight cutting practices in different organizations around the world. And even gave some consideration to the potential for a future women’s lightweight division in the UFC.

This week, we’re looking at the value of win streaks vs. getting big name wins. We’re also giving some thought to the potential for a UFC fighter’s union and whether or not it has a realistic future. And we’ve got questions about a potential women’s openweight division, the value of control and takedowns for MMA judging, and balancing sparring sessions between full-contact preparation and health & longevity.

Dear Roxy

“As a fighter, where do you stand on win streaks vs name wins? All too often these days someone has ground their way up the division on an active and impressive streak and then 2 top 5ers both on losses pair up and for some reason the narrative shifts to the winner of that getting next…” — 2ndTry

Dear 2^nd Try,

Promoters and match-makers care about the money value, not what’s fair in the sports world. I believe they prioritize entertainment, and it’s often not what we consider “fair.” Remember, MMA is more than half entertainment, and only partially sports. It makes sense from the business standpoint to give fight opportunities that make the company the most money, so I understand that’s probably why they do it. Fighters grind their way into the top ten, then get to hang out there longer because they are more recognized and have more name value.

I’m a fighter, so I’m personally against a big name getting the title shot repeatedly. Also it’s annoying to fighters when someone coming in from another weight division quickly gets the title shot in the new division. That happened with Jessica Andrade from strawweight to flyweight. Also, Valentina entering flyweight as a top bantamweight. As a fighter in flyweight, I was pretty indignant. Let people who’ve been fighting their way up the ladder in flyweight have a chance.

Dear Roxy,

“Realistically, do you think unionization will ever happen?” — Yoel Simpson

Dear Yoel,

No, I don’t.

Not unless the top ten of all divisions threaten not to fight, or there’s some financial advantage for the fight promotion. Promotions like the UFC are under no obligation to keep fighters. They can just release anyone they want, and someone will jump up excitedly to take their place. Also, fighters are hired as independent contractors, not employees. Something would have to change in the system in order for unionization to take place.

Dear Roxy,

“As someone who often grappled your way to decision victories, can you make a case for why takedowns and control time are weighted heavily in scoring?” — LyricBaritone

Dear Lyric,

Yes, especially because I’m a grappler, I’m disappointed that the Unified Rules are biased towards strikers. My case is this: takedowns and control time should be weighed more heavily than they are now. It should return to how it used to be scored. Control on the ground is dominance. The other person is being held against their will and doesn’t have the ability to get up. The top person is using skill and strength, which they’ve worked hard to develop, to keep them there and try to set up a finish.

Two fighters can kickbox the whole fight and not be tired. Two fighters can wrestle for one round and be exhausted. Also, one often has to maneuver into a certain position to get a submission, or pin them to ground and pound TKO them. Maybe the fighter almost got into that position when the bottom fighter escapes. That means the effort of the top fighter is wasted, and that’s not fair.

Dear Roxy,

“What is the right mix of sparring levels? I think a lot of fighters still spar inappropriately hard and too often and wind up leaving a lot of their career longevity in the gym. I do think sparring is necessary to get used to fighting, so no sparring ever is probably not the right answer either. Curious to hear your take.” — Huck77

Dear Huck,

This is a topic dear to my heart. I suffered through my twenties with daily pain and agony from under-recovering and over-training. When I reached my mid thirties, I wanted to drill techniques and land them while my partner was resisting. However, I didn’t want to dominate my training partners, beat them up, or hurt them.

Some people do want to beat others up in training. They might be younger athletes who haven’t had concussions in training, or have anger issues, or whatnot. When I was nearing the end of my career and was having headaches after training, my coach John Wood said, “Well, you don’t have to spar. Lots of older fighters just drill and then fight.” But I didn’t want to give up sparring! I needed people to resist my techniques so I could try out my moves. However, I didn’t want do Mortal Kombat in the gym every day.

I think MMA fighters need to treat this more like a sport. You go to practice to build strength and muscle memory. However, fighting is an emotional, primal thing. Most people get excited if they get hit, hit someone, etc. Everyone has a fire inside of them to fight. It takes work to control that fire.

I think trainers and coaches should figure out how to do things like situational sparring where people can go hard but not try to knock each other out in the gym.

Dear Roxy,

“Hi Roxy! There was a question on your last article RE: women’s 155lb division, and it reminded me of Brian Campbell’s idea of a women’s Open Weight division. What would you think of a division in women’s MMA with functionally no weight limit? Set it at 145lbs and up, allowing matches without having to deal with making a weight division for one or two fighters.” — APgabadoo

Dear APgabadoo,

I have participated in two open-weight tournaments earlier on in my career. They are really hard! I think they are better off left in the past, or on the amateur level. I think as fighters mature and improve in skill, the weight and strength becomes more and more of a big deal. When you have fighters who are very similar in skill, their size and strength can be the tipping factor. That doesn’t mean the bigger or stronger fighter will always win, and of course, but it’s more likely nowadays.

That being said, I’d do open-weight in jiujitsu just to see if I could pull it off. I’m usually the weakest in a group.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

]]> https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/08/09/dear-roxy-6-qa-advice-column-unionization-win-streaks-control-scoring-sparring-mma-ufc-editorial/feed/ 0 Bloody ElbowBloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/20/roxanne-modafferi-ufc-vet-qa-dear-roxy-5-open-scoring-womens-lightweight-weight-cuts-mma/ https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/20/roxanne-modafferi-ufc-vet-qa-dear-roxy-5-open-scoring-womens-lightweight-weight-cuts-mma/#respond Wed, 20 Jul 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/20/roxanne-modafferi-ufc-vet-qa-dear-roxy-5-open-scoring-womens-lightweight-weight-cuts-mma/

It’s time for another edition of Dear Roxy, where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

In our last edition we talked about self promotion without focusing on sex appeal. We also talked about what I’d change in MMA, given the power to change anything. And we looked at what it takes to maintain good corner communication in the heat of a fight.

In this week’s edition, we’re fielding questions on open scoring and whether or not it has a place in mixed martial arts. We’re also looking at weight cutting in MMA and the possibility for putting more strict systems in place. And we’ll be talking about the potential for bringing a women’s lightweight division to the UFC.

“Dear Roxy,

“How do you feel about open scoring? In my experience from watching recent Invicta FC events sometimes the information comes quite late into the break between rounds, do you think logistics concerns could hamper adopting the policy in UFC?” — Gokou9001

Dear Gokou9001,

I think open scoring is a great idea.

Concerning logistics, I’m not sure exactly how much counting and recording has to get done before judges turn in their scorecards. To the best of my knowledge they aren’t the ones who do the strike count and submit the figures that get put on the screen for “significant strikes” and the like. I’ve never looked over their shoulder while doing it, though. There are only 60 seconds between rounds, but even if the cornermen are just able to glance at the round score, I think it’s still useful because they can chose to send their fighter into the next round with a final word of advice. If it takes 40 seconds to get the information to the person holding the iPad, and 5 seconds for them to climb up the cage and flash it to the cornerman, 15 seconds is better than nothing. Of course, it would be best for the cornerman to be able to formulate different strategy depending on if their fighter is ahead or not, but they should have a general feel of the fight anyway.

I think that if the UFC starts using open scoring, they might implement more advanced technology to get the information faster, which would cut down on time.

It takes the guesswork out of close rounds. I’m glad Invicta is trying it out because it’s a high-level promotion with high-level fighters. There are concerns floating around about fighters who are ahead “coasting” and just doing barely enough to win. What about the other side? If I know for a fact that I’m losing, I’m going to go nuts trying to get a finish to secure myself the victory. That will ensure it’s an exciting fight, unless the opponent runs away the entire time. I’ve never seen a boring fight in Invicta.

“Dear Roxy,

“What are your thoughts on more organizations adopting weight cut parameters (similar to, I believe, ONE) where you have weigh-ins earlier in the process where you have certain benchmark weights at set dates out from the fight; to have less last minute crash cuts?” — From Donnie Oliver

Dear Donnie Oliver,

I feel like fewer and fewer people are missing weight nowadays. I think more people are following better nutrition and using science to aid themselves. I would like to think that some fighters are starting to choose to fight up a weight class where they feel good, rather than cut down and feel crappy just to be larger. I have multiple teammates who have gone up weight classes.

I think it’s a good idea to have certain benchmarks, but I’ve never had to abide by them so I can’t say 100%. I think it would be good for less disciplined people, for sure. It might be annoying for me, since I have my own benchmarks which I’m very strict with. I’m not 100% sure how other fighters like them.

“Dear Roxy,

“What is your take on the women’s weight classes in the UFC? Do you think they should adopt a 155 to attract a different pool of women. It’s had success in PFL. With the average weight of a woman in the USA being 170, and all the “body positivity” in the world today shouldn’t it at least be discussed. I love this sport, but the way my body is built, I would have to lose significant muscle mass to get to a weight class to ever be on the biggest mma platform in the world. In other words my dream is killed from the jump. Why is it that the ufc can support pride month, but can’t support opening weight classes so average sized women can have a shot at showcasing their skills and living their dreams!” — From Lauren Kyle Jones

Dear Lauren,

I absolutely think there should be more opportunities for larger women to have fights. I know how hard it is to find a fight. Trust me—I came up in a time where there weren’t a lot of women fighting period. Then, I felt stuck when they only had 135 and I was 125.

As to whether I think the UFC “should” adopt a larger weight class right now? I think we have to look at the number of fighters to fill the weight classes.

The PFL is doing such a good job to give women who are 155 opportunities. However, I think that division in the PFL contains a few true 155-ers and also lots of women coming up from 145 or even 135 just for the opportunity.

You mentioned that the average weight of an American woman is 170. Google also says the average height is 5’4” at 170. By those numbers, the average women isn’t fighting; the majority of promotions want finely-tuned, shredded athletes to hire to perform at a high-level. I think we have to consider how many of the taller and more muscular women there are who train and who also weigh 170 lbs. Then, narrow that down to how many of them would be skilled enough to compete even at an amateur level. Narrow that down to those who can go pro, and then who can achieve a skill-level rivaling other UFC fighters.

I actually got a different perspective when I visited Hillary, owner of Unicorn Jiujitsu in Portland. She’s a powerful woman who has fought at 195, 205+, and managed to get to 185 once. She is 5 ft 10. She told me about how hard it was for her. I can only name a few women off the top of my head who are larger with muscle mass that would make it difficult to cut down to 155 lbs. I hope more and more promotions make it possible for larger women to fight and get opportunities so one day soon there will be a group of elite Amazons to make a UFC division. Maybe not tomorrow, but possibly soon. Keep training and fighting! Other women your size need you!

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

]]> https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/20/roxanne-modafferi-ufc-vet-qa-dear-roxy-5-open-scoring-womens-lightweight-weight-cuts-mma/feed/ 0 Bloody ElbowBloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/01/dear-roxy-4-roxanne-modafferi-qa-changing-mma-sex-appeal-corner-advice-column-editorial/ https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/01/dear-roxy-4-roxanne-modafferi-qa-changing-mma-sex-appeal-corner-advice-column-editorial/#respond Fri, 01 Jul 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://bloodyelbow.com/2022/07/01/dear-roxy-4-roxanne-modafferi-qa-changing-mma-sex-appeal-corner-advice-column-editorial/

It’s time for another edition of Dear Roxy, where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Last time around we talked about channeling your inner warrior in the face of difficulty and self doubt. We also looked at some good ways to relax during training camp. And some tips on what it takes to make it to the big leagues of mixed martial arts.

This time around I’m fielding questions about promoting yourself as a woman in the combat sports sphere. I’m also looking at potential changes that could be made to improve the sport of mixed martial arts. And what it takes to have good communication with your corner during a fight.

“Dear Roxy,

“As a female fighter, I’m surrounded by other women in my promotion that rely on using their sex appeal and bodies to gain traction and followers. Other than the actual fighting, how do you feel you were able to stand out and successfully promote yourself without those tactics? More followers as I start out can help me get more sponsors (which pays the bills), but I’m trying to figure out what kind of content will get and retain an audience when I’m surrounded by women just pulling their bits out (which is fine for them, just not my thing). I coach kids and I really want to keep a good image that they can look up to, while also trying to appeal to a broad audience.” — Jessica

Dear Jessica,

Yes, I understand completely. I also am not one to use female charms to get viewers, except when I cosplay. Other than fighting or that avenue, it’s honestly hard. It’s best for a fighter to have something unique about them that makes fans want to watch. That’s the main key. Be visually attractive, have a fight style that’s unique and appealing to watch, or be personally interesting. The later is my choice. Thankfully, I was on the Ultimate Fighter so fans could see my personality and come to like me. Therefore, they cared about me as a person and wanted to watch me fight.

I’ve seen lots of comments on message boards saying, “I like her so much that I don’t want to see her fight and get beat up! I hope she doesn’t fight Valentina!” It’s partly a dig at my skill that they think I’m going to get beat up, but I don’t mind. At least they like me. I recommend showing your hobbies or past times other than fighting on social media. If you like mountain climbing, post pictures. If you have interesting training methods, like hammering a giant tire and then flipping it repeatedly, that would be fun to watch.

“Dear Roxy,

“If you were able to, what changes, if any, would you make in MMA? Why?” — Joel R.

Dear Joel,

I’m not thrilled that the Unified Rules seem to make it harder for the grappler to gain points. I understand the point of damage being important. Officials don’t want someone to wrestle the other fighter to the ground and win by control. However, fights start on the feet, which is advantageous to the striker. It’s hard to get someone to the ground, and according the unified rules, all the effort and skill that it takes counts for nothing unless “some damage” or “attack” follows. The rules don’t recognize the effort and skill of a takedown, which I think is advantageous to the striker again. I feel like Unified Rules lean towards the striker. As a jiujitsu-lover, I wish that weren’t the case. In the case of Taila Santos vs Valentina Shevchenko, I think if the Unified Rules gave more credit to ground dominance, there would be a new champion right now. This is ‘Mixed Martial Arts,’ not ‘kickboxing with grappling.’

One could argue that in an actual street fight, strikes and damage counts the most because that’s what hurts the opponent. However, this is a sport and sports have points. I can see it both ways.

“Dear Roxy,

“I’m particularly interested in the mental aspect of the game, specifically how fighters and their corners communicate during the fight itself and between rounds. How do you pick up on your corner’s instructions during the fight? Thanks again.” — Squib2012

Dear Squib2012,

I think everyone is different. When I’m actively fighting, I’m in a state of mind in which I don’t really understand sentences and thought processes that include strategy. If my coach says in the fight or even in the corner, “So you have to draw her out to make her think you’re retreating, and then if and when she steps forward, you feint a kick and then shoot or both…” Almost none of that goes in my brain. If my corner-man says, “Okay, double jab then uppercut. Try Jab, low kick then switch back.” My brain can process the technique names and I remember it and can do it. I’ve had great success and also great struggles in my career with coaching and cornering. I really like it when a corner-man just yells out the name of combos.

I also need them to be specific. For example, if I’m being trapped on the bottom in half guard against the cage, and my cornerman yells, “Get up!” that’s not helpful. Cool, how exactly do I do that? I need my cornerman to yell, “Okay get up on your right elbow…try and pull your bottom leg out and put it against the fence. Get to your right knee. Wall walk! Push her face with your left elbow.” That’s how I operate.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

It’s time for another edition of Dear Roxy, where the ‘Happy Warrior’ goes toe-to-toe with questions about fighting, training, and life in general.

Back in May we talked about keeping composure inside the cage, especially in the face of painful injuries that might impact scoring with the judges. We also talked about gym culture, martial arts, and reaching out to the LGBTQ+ community. And my two trips through the Ultimate Fighter and what it was like working with coaches on both seasons.

For our next installment, I’m tackling my warrior spirit and how to find it, decompressing during training camps, and how to make it in the ‘big show’.

“Dear Roxy, in moments of doubt when facing tough opponents, how do you channel your inner warrior and overcome that doubt?” – Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I always go into any match, thinking, “Any fighter could win at any given time.” I may think about it differently rather than in terms of “doubt” because I know I can win. The question is “Will I? This time?” The fight game isn’t a proper equation. Sometimes you might be injured or not as skilled, but you beat a superior opponent due to a better game plan or a slick submission. There are times where you are far more skilled, but your opponent outlasts you with strength and stamina. There are so many variables that I can’t go into a fight analyzing whether I can win or not. I do my best to prepare myself, mentally and physically. I imagine myself powering up my ki before our gloves touch for the first time.

“I’ll try my best!” I just think,

However, I have thought to myself, “Crap, I’m losing this fight.”

I’m very inspired by super heroes who seem beaten down and exhausted, but they summon their inner strength and keep going. At the battle of Thermopyles, a small number of Greeks held back the Persian forces for a long time; Goku from Dragon Ball Z never quit getting up and trying to beat his enemy.

I told myself, “That’s me. I have to be like that.” I’ll eat damage and keep going, keep trying my best. There is glory in never giving up despite it being a losing battle. Because you never know if you could win in the last second. You have fifteen minutes until the time runs out. I think of my heroes and let myself be inspired in the heat of the battle.

“Dear Roxy, what was your favorite way to decompress when training full time for fights in the UFC?” – CuriousMinds

Dear CuriousMinds,

I do well with habitual things, and regularly schedules activities. I have to schedule break time into my day. Now that I’m not in my normal training routine it’s almost harder. I feel like I’m busier because I’m running around more.

Every day after pro practice, between 1:45 and 3 PM, I used to lay on my sofa and watch anime. If I was lucky, I’d get sleepy enough to take a nap. I made sure I set my alarm on my phone so I’d wake up in time to go teach my kids class. In the evening when I was single, I always watched anime at night, too. I used to be really into video games as well (Mario Kart, Twisted Metal, Tomb Raider, Katamari Damacy). However, nowadays I feel like it takes a lot of mental energy and I’m too tired to expend it. Now that I have a boyfriend, we watch anime together, or the latest Marvel show on Netflix. Sometimes I watch him play video games (Fallout, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk). He has more patience than I do.

I try to go to the movies on Sunday with my best friend Serena, or Chris, my boyfriend/fiancé. I sometimes get invited out to go hiking, but I’m always too tired for that. I know certain people like to recharge in nature. If someone could carry me into nature, leave me for a bit, and then come get me without me having to make the effort, that would be ideal.

“Dear Roxy, for the modern fighter, what’s the recipe to ‘make it’ to the big show?” – Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I think the fighter has to be in the situation where they’re able to commit a lot of time to training. They have to have a job or money situation that leaves them with enough energy and time to train enough. Unlike decades ago when a martial artist could train once a day after work, now fighters are “athletes” and must make a big effort to work on all aspects of themselves. They should do strength and conditioning because strength matters, striking, grappling, wrestling, and jiujitsu. It helps to have good training partners who you can train with safely, who don’t go crazy and try to beat you up every sparring around. Fighters need to be aware that in their careers, they can only absorb so many strikes to the head. They better make each day productive.

Fighters have to work on all aspects of fighting, but I’d like to caution them against neglecting training what they love the most. You gotta love what you do!

I think every fighter needs a superpower or strongpoint. If you love jiujitsu, try to use it to get the edge on your opponents. That’s your game. If you’re a striker, do an extra session of that per week. It’ll keep you happier. Playing to your strength leads you on the path to making your fights go smoothly, the way you want them to go.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

The Happy Warrior has returned!

I get asked lots of great questions by fans and fellow fighters, and I’d like my experience and knowledge to help everyone, so I’ve decided to start a ‘Dear Roxy’ advice column. Each month I’ll take your most interesting questions about fighting, training, and life in general and answer them to the best of my ability. Hopefully, we can all learn a few things along the way.

Last time around, we talked about planning out sparring sessions in the gym, making sure you choose your partners wisely and get the kind of helpful experience you need from training. We also talked about taking care of your body, and adressing potential underlying causes of injury—most particularly establishing stretching, strength, and conditioning routines to make sure that you joints suffer as little stress as possible.

This week, we’ll be talking about putting on your game face, creating a welcoming culture inside your gym, and surviving the Ultimate Fighter.

Dear Roxy,

How do you manage to keep a poker face after getting struck in the shin, or an already busted nose, or other parts of the body that are loaded with nerve endings? Does the adrenaline of the fight mask the pain, or do you have to make a conscious effort not to let the pain show through? – From ClowntimeIsOver

Dear ClowntimeIsOver,

Indeed, adrenaline masks most of the pain. From what I can remember from my distorted reality during my fights, it’s more the blows to the head that bothered me. If I got hit really really hard on the side of the head, it was like blinking really slowly. The world paused, or disappeared for a moment, and then came back. Only I felt slower. That physical reaction I experienced got in my way the most.

I’ve experienced getting mentally stuck on gameplans afterwards. For example, if the strategy was to try to throw strikes to close the distance and then do a takedown, I would go after the takedown like a Terminator. Even if they weren’t working and I should have changed the strategy to more kicks or punches, I kept doing the same thing and failing. In the beginning of a fight, I would be more clearheaded. It depended on how hard the person punched. For example, Viviane Araujo punched extremely hard. She’s maybe one of the top-five hardest punchers I’ve ever felt. If other fighters’ punches weren’t quite as strong, I would be able to walk through them and eat them easier without being affected. I rarely felt pain.

Regarding pain, I experienced more of sharp stinging jolts when struck in the nose, or an area already bruised up. They were annoying, but I was more concerned with the fact that my opponent hit me and was getting points. The little voice in my head said, “Oh no, that landed. You didn’t block that!” Actual pain didn’t bother me so much.

Regarding a poker face, this is actually quite a good point. I’ve been studying the Unified Rules more closely and it states that the judges are supposed to weigh more heavily the strikes that hurt or damage the opponent. If a fighter acts as if the painful strike didn’t bother them in the slightest, the judges may very well not count it as a significant strike. Therefore, a poker face would impact the outcome of a judges’ decision.

Dear Roxy,

How do you feel about the way MMA gyms/coaches handle LGBTQ+ issues and how you think they should be handled, as well as any advice you may have for the LGBTQ+ youth who are interested in or currently pursuing MMA? – From, MostlyInHerHead

Dear MostlyInHerHead,

In the gyms I’ve trained at or done seminars at, LGBTQ+ folks are treated with respect and warmth. When I did a seminar in Washington, I noted that Bellingham BJJ labels the bathrooms “Gender Neutral Bathrooms” to make everyone feel comfortable, although they’re just a typical toilet and sink. I guess the alternative would be “Women” and “Men” signs you commonly find hung on plaques on doors. The owner Jeff told me that it’s important to him to make an environment where everyone feels comfortable. I agree – everyone should have the opportunity to train and have a safe haven from daily stress.

The LGBTQ+ community should absolutely learn martial arts for self-defense, as they tend to be statistically attacked at higher rates. As for competition, there are no set guidelines and there’s a lot of conflicting data. Competing aside, I think everyone should be given the opportunity to train. Gym owners should welcome anyone in to train and practice as much as they want, and at the places I’ve been to, they are welcome. All genders typically train together, and members get to know each other as people who love martial arts.

Dear Roxy,

Which TUF were you most nervous for, which did you like more? Did you prefer one coach to the other? How was it knowing that you were more advanced in BJJ than some of the coaches and trainers? Is it easier (or maybe it’s harder) being that you’re in your hometown and you want to go to your own place and shower and sleep but you cant… but it’s just down the street (basically). -From, Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Well, before both of them, I was feeling lost and unsure of my next step. Before TUF 18, I was on a massive losing streak and my body was falling apart. Before TUF 26, I felt healthy and strong, also believing I had achieved a higher skill level. However, I was unable to take my career to the next level due to the fact my weight class (flyweight) didn’t exist in the UFC. I couldn’t make a living.

I felt more nerves and anxiety before TUF 18. I knew my career depended on that one fight to get into the house (against Valérie Létourneau). It didn’t really matter how high-level my jiujitsu skills were. Miesha Tate and her team were better than me at pretty much everything on TUF 18. Justin Gaethje and his team had fantastic wrestling, and I got good striking practice with Assistant Coach Luke Caudillo. Vinny Magalhães, who’s jiujitsu is actually far above mine, was an assistant coach on TUF 26 so that was super cool.

It was definitely weird knowing exactly where I was going. When I first went to Vegas for TUF 18, I couldn’t recognize anything. When they drove us around during TUF 26, I knew exactly where we were – like 15 minutes north of my apartment. That was pretty funny. I didn’t particularly want to go home. I wanted to beat up three girls and win the title.

As to who I liked more? There were awesome people on both seasons. I had a better experience and got along with more people on TUF 26. I’ll never forget how kind grappling coach Ricky Lundell was to me on TUF 18. Luke on TUF 26 was super supportive, and Justin is just a fun guy to be around in general.

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Hey everyone, it’s me, The Happy Warrior! You probably all know me from my long mixed martial arts career, but I love sharing my life outside the cage as well. I’m currently working on writing my third book, which is my second memoir. I hope to release it later this year.

I get asked lots of great questions by fans and fellow fighters, and I’d like my experience and knowledge to help everyone, so I’ve decided to start a ‘Dear Roxy’ advice column. Each month I’ll take your most interesting questions about fighting, training, and life in general and answer them to the best of my ability. Hopefully, we can all learn a few things along the way.

That said, let’s get to the first run of ‘Dear Roxy’!

Dear Roxy,

I’m an amateur fighter with a few fights and weighs about 110 pounds. There are a couple other girls in my gym but they’re bigger than me, and I feel like nobody wants to spar with me. What can I do?

From Small Fry

Dear Small Fry,

I get it, it’s hard being the smallest person! I think it would help to plan your sparring rounds before class starts, so try going around and asking the girls and also small guys if they can give you a round. Also specify which round. This reduces your stress of running around during the chaos of the 60 second break trying to find a partner, and then getting avoided. Then you’re the last one without a partner, and you either have to hit the bag, or go with a crazy big guy, and neither of you get good practice.

Also, it gives your training partners the chance to plan their rounds so they can make the most out of their day of training. For example, maybe if ‘Miss Fighter A’ agrees to go with you for round 3, she can plan the first two rounds to be against really tough people. That way you guys will be more evenly matched during your round. She wouldn’t mind holding back her power due to the size discrepancy. I’ve experienced both sides, and I know that as a training partner, I appreciate the heads up. It’s smart planning to be able to say, “Hey, chica, see you for round four in the left corner of the gym!”

Same thing goes if you’re a big person. Call in advance to make a reservation!

Dear Roxy,

I’m dying to train but I feel like I keep getting hurt. It’s always something. I keep jamming my neck when wrestling, my knee makes funny sounds, and my back aches. How do I know when to take a day off and when to push?

Thanks
Always Injured

Dear Always Injured,

It sounds like you have things that are not really healing, but only hurting less until something hurts worse — then you notice the second thing more. You could have general weakness in those areas. I used to have incredible back pain that started with a slight bulging disk but the eventual chronic pain came from weak glutes, hip flexors, tight hamstrings, and weak lower back muscles. I hired a physical trainer and worked in sessions with him around my martial arts training. It was exhausting at first, and I had to reduce my martial arts training load for a number of months. Maybe even years. Eventually, my neck got stronger so I no longer tweak it every other week. I think you should try and seek out strength training to build up your neck and back muscles. Yoga and stretching after hot baths will really help you stretch your glutes and hamstrings, which is a huge cause of back pain in some people.

Make a plan and see what your body can do. You can still train but slightly lighter when you add in this extra stuff. Your body might feel like you’re taking one step backwards sometimes, but if you do it right, you’ll take two steps forward.

I’m afraid I’m not sure about your knee. You might want to get imaging done. Good luck!

If you’d like to submit your own questions for ‘Dear Roxy’ feel free to email me at basilisk875@yahoo.com, with the subject line “Dear Roxy”, or reach out on twitter @RoxyFighter with the hashtag #DearRoxy. Or simply leave your questions in a comment below on Bloody Elbow. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everybody’s lives in some shape or form, including myself. Gyms in Vegas closed, and we went under lockdown for over a month. That resulted in me changing my training, and pursing other interests that I have been putting on the back burner, like the piano. Uncertain about topics to write about for my next article, I decided to ask my fans what they wanted to know about me and my recent activities.

I always enjoy hearing from the MMA community, they gave me an opportunity to answer questions about not just my fight career, but also things I’ve achieved outside the cage as well. I look forward to hearing from anybody who wants to reach out, either in comments, or by email, or on social media.

Is there a possibility of another title shot early 2021?

This is actually a complicated question. Throughout my career, I’ve only had one consistent goal: to try the techniques I’ve learned in training on my opponents in live combat, and prove that I can use them to win. It was my goal during my debut fight, and it’s what I think about now.

My career has been long. 17 years! Of course, I’ve had other goals pop up—like trying to get a knock out, trying to win titles (Fatal Femmes Fighting, Strikeforce, UFC, Fusion Fight League, IFC). They were all in my grasp once, and I even won a couple of them. But not the elusive UFC title. It takes years for fighters to work their way up to a title shot, usually because they have to win so many consecutive matches. I’m typically only offered fights twice a year.

After my fight with Nicco Montano for the belt in 2017, I figured there was no way my career would last long enough for me to work my way back. Instead I had to just be happy with fighting at all.

Now, I find myself ranked number 5. People are talking about me being close to the head of the line for another shot! However, my teammate Joanne Calderwood is fighting Valentina Shevchenko for the title next, right? I don’t really want to think about fighting JoJo for the belt if she should win, but I really want her to beat Valentina! I’m going to support JoJo 100% and train hard with her in her fight camp. Worrying about what might happen will only waste mental energy. Who knows what life will bring? It’s rarely as we imagine it, for better or for worse.

Instead, I’m going to try to focus on my short-term goals, like beating Lauren Murphy if she is indeed my next opponent. I’ll try not to have any future desires one way or another. I’m going back to the root of my motivation: whoever I fight, I’m doing it for myself—to prove I can win with what my coaches taught me. It’s the reason I wake up excited to go train every day.

What’s it like training with past opponents, especially those you’ve lost to like Kaufman, etc?

I’ve trained with a many past opponents before, actually. I’m in a different mind-set when I train than when I fight. All limiters are removed and there’s no holding back in a fight. I’m very controlled with my power in training, and use less vicious techniques.

I practiced MMA with a girl who I had finished from mount with elbows, and I was actually worried that she would feel mental repercussions from our fight. I tried not to get mount too much in our round. I know that I have flash backs, nightmares, and feel traumatized in certain positions I struggled with during a fight—even if I’m training with somebody other than that opponent.

After I lost by slam to Sarah Kaufman, I freaked out if somebody started lifting me off the ground in guard. After I lost to Jennifer Maia, I got upset whenever we practiced body locks in practice—because I had been trying so hard to get a take-down in that fight, but couldn’t. It’s a little bizarre, but time heals that sort of thing.

The first week of training with Kaufman was a little challenging. Becoming friends with her helped, and I tried to focus on the great training I was getting. Her striking is still better than mine, plus she’s bigger and stronger. She gave me lots of good advice. I missed her after she left.

How do you stay fit and motivated during Covid-19 times?

My motto is, ‘Do what you can do until you can do more.’ My gym, Syndicate MMA, closed to the public in late March. We had one more training session as a team, and then even the team was disbanded for several months. I hit up my teammate and Muay Thai coach AJ Matthews, and he invited me to train in his garage! I started going there almost every day, terrified about the future but just telling myself, “It’s okay, it’ll be okay, AJ is helping me. I can keep growing.”

I also trained with my strength and conditioning trainer Lorenzo Pavlica three times a week in his backyard. He has a whole professional set up, with weights, a jammer, a sled, dumbbells, tire, hammer, bands, etc. I know I’m getting stronger.

That’s the key, I think. Recognize what things are in the realm of possibilities and do what you can do until you can do more. To stay fit, if all you can do is go jogging, do push-ups and sit ups, then set goals and do them as hard as you can.

In regards to motivation, I’m usually so busy in my daily life that I barely have time to sleep. I challenged myself to find something positive about this lock-down situation, since I’m the ‘Happy Warrior’ and it’s my job to be positive. I decided to make a list of all the things in the back of my mind that I’ve always wanted to do, and do them before the lock-down ended. I proceeded to attack my ‘to do list’ every day, with all my energy that I didn’t have to use teaching kids or training hardcore.

I reorganized my apartment. I started cooking new things. I started writing my third book—a memoirs collection! I’ve written so many pages so far! I figured out how to do my nails and make-up. (Go ahead and laugh but you gotta practice these things to get good!) I bought a keyboard to learn the piano. I also lay on my sofa and watched anime. It has been kind of nice being able to actually sit down between tasks.

Write about the time between the 2^nd Maia fight and the Maycee Barber fight.

That was a hard loss to swallow, but I tried to digest it as best I could. Although I was landing strikes, I became obsessed with trying to take her down. I could not. As I tried over and over to get the body lock or get some kind of hold on her, she dirty-boxed me and beat me in the clinch.

Upon reflection, I realized that I was good at the grappling aspect of the clinch but not striking, so I requested “clinch lessons” from AJ. That was the first time we had started training. For two months we only did clinching, and it was like a whole new world. He has really added a lot to my arsenal of techniques and is really good at explaining body mechanics.

I continued my development with Team Syndicate and my head MMA coach John Wood, and feel really good about who I’ve got in my corner. Coach John is good at working with my natural abilities and adding techniques that suit me. I also tried really hard to get gi jiu-jitsu training in. It was hard to fit gi into my schedule, but I drove back and forth between Dunham’s Jiu-Jitsu and Syndicate several times a week. I also did a ton of strength and conditioning with Lorenzo.

All these efforts paid off when I won my Maycee fight in January, and got promoted to black belt in February. I also managed to take my yearly trip to Japan in September, and go home for Christmas in December.

What does it feel like to be covered in your enemy’s blood?

It feels very bizarre.

Right after the fight, I saw it all over my arms and legs and had to remind myself, “It’s okay, it’s not my blood,” several times. When people went to shake my hand after the fight, I hesitated, not wanting to get blood on them. They didn’t seem to care. I have also tasted the blood of my enemy… so I guess that makes me a vampire for real?

Finally, after numerous interviews I went back to my locker room caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Blood also covered my face and neck. Most of it dried—it looked a lot more like a nice brown tan, not blood. I knew better.

Aghast, I thought, “I look like THAT!? I’ve been giving interviews like THIS?” I always wait to get back to my hotel room to shower, but I stripped down to my sports bra and compression shorts in the co-ed locker room showers and washed off my limbs. It blew my mind to see blood streaming off my body and down the drain.

What are the biggest changes in MMA from the first year you started and today’s MMA?

Training methods, the science behind training, and skill levels have all skyrocketed! I used to go to jiu-jitsu class one evening, kickboxing another, and lift weights the next day in the lead-up to a fight. Now, I have multiple sessions a day—including private lessons with my head coach who teaches me strategies, and takes the time to correct little details of my technique.

An example of the skill progression in MMA over that time shows up in how fighters handle being in guard. Now, somebody in top guard is winning with ground and pound because they know how to defend submissions from the bottom. The bottom guy usually has a much harder time sweeping or submitting the guy on top, and takes a lot of damage.

What are some thoughts and feelings the days after a win, and also after losses?

After I win, the following week is euphoric. I enjoy looking at pictures and reading congratulatory messages from fans, friends, and family. I relive in my memory various moments of the fight.

I feel so proud of myself that I was able to pull off the victory. I put my heart and soul into training, so it’s the most satisfying feeling in the world to have it pay off. I take a week off, and then review the fight with my coaches to see what I can improve on. There are always areas to improve.

After a loss, I feel devastated and a soul-crushing weight on top of me. I had put everything into preparation and combat in the cage, but still couldn’t emerge victorious. My coaches had confidence in me, but I couldn’t do it. I have trouble sleeping, and flashes of the fight haunt me for weeks and even months. Eventually, when I can bare to rewatch the fight, I sit down with my coaches and go over my technique, making a plan on how to improve.

THIS IS SPARTA!

That’s not a question, but yes! I get it!

I always hold back in training, which sometimes works against me when I’m working with very aggressive training partners. In a fight, I won’t hold back any power in my technique or speed in order to apply my techniques. I don’t want to cause any injury, but I want to make her tap out or give up, so I hit as hard as I can and wrestle her to the ground with every ounce of my being.

What’s your greatest personal victory/accomplishment outside of MMA?

One of my greatest personal victories was becoming Kids Coordinator at my English school, Berlitz Japan, in Kawasaki. I didn’t get a lot of education on how to teach kids before I had to lead a class, and I felt so stressed and awkward for so long. I hated teaching kids so much! I used to cry in the bathroom before class.

After being forced to do it for years, I got better and better, and then started getting requested by parents and kids. Finally, I started enjoying it and realized that I was the best person for the job of Kids Coordinator. I took a course at HQ and was awarded that title.

I think kids are our future, and raising them is the most important job in the world! I also became a certified ‘mentor,’ which meant I got to teach new instructors how to work with kids and adults.

Tell us about your journey towards proper strength and conditioning training, and the difference.

I have always hated ‘lifting weights,’ which is what I thought S&C was supposed to be. Maybe back in the day – when I first started – that what it was, but MMA has evolved. I was left in the dust in Japan with no guidance. I never felt any benefit from what I did on my own, so I convinced myself that I didn’t need it. I told myself that I’d get so good technically that it wouldn’t matter if I had muscles or not!

Unfortunately, times were changing and it seemed like all fighters were becoming athletic beasts. I met Lorenzo Pavlica around five years ago and training with him has changed my life.

My chronic back, neck, and shoulder pains eventually lessened, my athletic ability increased exponentially. I became able to do techniques I previously couldn’t do simply because my body didn’t have the physical capabilities to perform them. Lorenzo played a huge role in my success as a fighter, and also improved my standard of living.

Hi, Roxyfighter. :)

Hi to you too! I always appreciate the energy and effort fans make to send me a message, and I always try and reply. As a kid, I didn’t have many friends so it makes me so happy to have people wanting to talk to me. If I died tomorrow, it would be with a happy heart and a smiling face.

Thank you to everyone who’s taking the time to read this article, and who cheers for me during my fights. One of the best things about being a fighter for me is having fans who are nice to me. Maybe even you can change the world just by smiling at somebody and improving their mood a little, spreading positive vibes into the universe.

Thanks to Kombatjunky, Paulmcuomo, Vrunner12, Fwm_pod, K___stark, Samayoasun, Thebarbellresistance, Yazan.odeh, Mck7az, Johanisak82, & Artembilavskei_MMA for providing the questions. I appreciated hearing from each of you.

I loved team sports as a kid, especially soccer. My dad also loved soccer, so from the time I could run, we were kicking around a soccer ball.

One day when I was twelve or thirteen, I went over to my mom after an episode of the Power Rangers TV show had finished.

“Mom,” I said, “Can I do martial arts? I want to learn to fight and beat up the bad guys, too!”

“Um, okay,” she said, and did some researching, probably the phone book. “How about Tae Kwon Do?”

I joined a studio in Kennett Square, PA. I loved it! I learned to punch, kick, spin kick, jump kick, and break wooden boards. I memorized forms, and rose in the ranks. I got different colored belts. I think my mom thought it had something to do with me wanting to get emotions out because my parents were going through a divorce, but that wasn’t it. Two words: Power. Rangers.

After about a year, the academy started to host fund raisers to raise money. I don’t think the school was in trouble. I’m not sure what was going on but it was weird, because I couldn’t get my next promotion unless I sold a certain number of pizzas.

“Mom,” I said, “I don’t want to sell pizzas.”

“Okay,” Mom said, not wanting me to sell pizzas either, and likely grabbing the phone book again. “How about Kempo Karate?”

“SURE! Cool, maybe I can try ALL KINDS of martial arts!” I said, really getting excited for the change. I joined Mark Lawler’s Kempo Karate studio. And I loved it too! They had self defense-y kind of moves, and combinations with names like Jumping Crane and Pouncing Tiger… maybe… (Sorry, Mr. Lawler, I don’t actually remember them, but things like that.) It was also the first time I was able to full contact spar. I was about fourteen. I had so much fun! Finally, I was a learning how to REALLY fight. I rose in the ranks but never made black belt.

Then my dad moved to Boston, so my mom moved to Lenox, MA, so I could be closer to him. Thank goodness because my middle school classmates were meanies. Along the way, we spent the summer in Amsterdam, NY. And of course, I wanted to do martial arts. Good old Mom researched. “There’s a Uechi Ryu school in town! It’s Okinawan Karate.”

I was so excited to dabble in yet another martial art, even if it was only for a short while.

Upon moving to Lenox, there was no Kempo studio so we joined another Tae Kwon Do School. They were nice but made me start from white belt, which I didn’t think was fair. I was really bored.

Then one day I had a startling epiphany! I woke up and didn’t want to do it anymore. I said, “Mom, I don’t want to hit anybody anymore. It’s morally wrong. I want to do a martial art that doesn’t involve hitting.”

“Er, okay,” said my poor mother, probably lunging for the phone book. “How about Judo?” she suggested.

“Sure?”

I joined the Dalton Judo club. I’d been doing all this simultaneously with soccer, mind you. I gave up on other team sports for various reasons, mostly I wanted to focus on soccer and martial arts. Plus my eyesight was failing me and I couldn’t see the ball (baseball, tennis, basketball, etc.) I loved soccer enough to get sports glasses for it.

Judo became my favorite. You grab somebody in their gi, jerk them around to break their balance, and then throw them on their back. Depending on how cleanly you threw them, you could win immediately (ippon) or get a half point and then have to pin them for twenty seconds to win. I wasn’t naturally athletic or strong, so using balance and leverage worked well for me.

Unlike Tae Kwon Do and Kempo, Judo promotions weren’t given out by time and tests, but by ability and if the teacher felt you were ready. Sensei Harry Chandler promoted me up to brown after about three years. I trained hard, traveling to Jason Morris’ Judo club in New York (thanks for driving me so much, Mom!). I started competing in Judo tournaments. I did very well. I was serious. I remember, as a lowly yellow belt, I went to the Pan American games in New York after caravanning for hours in the car with my team. I threw an upper-ranked brown belt with the very first move I tried. She was so depressed that she left the tournament. That taught me that anybody can win at any given time. Just be brave and try.

I even got some of my high school friends into it.

I made close friends in my dojo. The only time I took time off was for soccer season, because it was too tiring to do both.

Then something life-changing happened. I was seventeen and a half, a senior in high school. One day while I was competing in a Judo tournament, I got pinned on my shoulders. I was squirming this way and that, desperately trying to get out of the hold-down. I gave a mighty twist, and something popped in my back. I felt excruciating pain. I didn’t know it at the time, but I think I either herniated something, tore something, or did something to screw up a disk.

Obviously I lost. I limped home, and could barely walk the rest of the week. It was bad. I think soccer season had just started. Our Lenox team had always kind of sucked, but finally that year, I’d made varsity and we were good. I mean, really good. We were winning our games and even beat Wahconah. NOBODY BEAT WAHCONAH.

But whenever I ran, my back started hurting. During practice I tried to play, but I ended up limping off the field. My back injury was one of the most significant turning points of my life. I remember crying face down in the grass in physical and emotional agony – after so many years of soccer, our team was finally in the playoffs, I was a starter, it was my senior year, my last year ever, and I couldn’t run. When it felt better and I returned to practice, it immediately started hurting again. I begged the coach to put me in a game. She put me in. I played twenty minutes and then had to come out. I couldn’t walk for two days afterwards. I had to stay home from school. That experience changed my life forever. In the future, if anything ever bummed me out, I would tell myself, “At least you can walk.”

I could only watch from the sidelines. I had to stop running. No jogging, no soccer, no tennis, no sprinting for the bus, no any kind of running activities, no team sports, or my back would hurt. It would jar me. I couldn’t stand up for more than 30 minutes without my back hurting. Standing in lines hurt. Amusement parks were torture to stand in line for! Sitting for over an hour hurt. Long car rides were torture. And the worst part was, Judo hurt it. The twisting and falling hurt it. I had to quit Judo. Was I to be a cripple? (Side Note: This state of my back continued for 20 very long years until only recently, thanks to my physical trainer Lorenzo Pavilica.)

I was depressed. I graduated from high school and got accepted to the University of Massachusetts so I could study Japanese. My Judo friend John Wooster said to me, “Roxanne, you should try Brazilian jiujitsu.”

“Nah,” I said, depressed.

“Come on,” he coaxed. He was a brown belt in Judo, and had been there for me from day one. “Just try a class before you go away to college. It’s like Judo except more on the ground. Me, my brother Lee, and Warren are really getting into it. We’re going to Rich LaBonte’s Gracie Association up in Adams, Mass.”

“No thanks, I’m not interested,” I grumbled, cranky about my life. Then one day I agreed because I trusted John. The ‘association,’ as it was called, ended up being a set of mats laid out in Rich’s basement.

And my life changed again. I LOVED IT. Somehow, it didn’t hurt my back. There was no hard impact on my back, and the twisting wasn’t sharp enough to hurt me. I could do it!

I trained jiujitsu as much as I could, putting a white belt back on, going to class. I even trained with John outside of class time, watching BJJ DVDs from the Gracies and Mario Sperry, and others. We were obsessed.

I received my blue belt from Royce Gracie himself in a seminar.

“Want to come over and watch the UFC with us on Saturday?” John said one day.

“What’s that?” I wondered on the way over. It was UFC 31 and I watched Matt Serra fight Shonie Carter, Randy Couture vs Pedro Rizzo, Carlos Newton vs Pat Miletich…

“That’s awesome!” the JiuJitsu and Judo guys were saying, “Let’s practice it tomorrow!”

“I could never do such a violent thing!” I said out loud.

“Aww, come on, Roxy!” they laughed.

The next class, we added light strikes to take-downs into our BJJ warmups. Hmph! The violence! However, I started doing it and warmed up to the idea.

I drove back from college to keep training with my favorite guys, but people moved, things changed, and I sadly settled into a routine at college—where eventually I found Kirik Jenness and Dave Roy at the Amherst Athletic Club. There, I started MMA in earnest. I was doing some kickboxing classes, which was very different from TKD or Kempo, and submission grappling. I didn’t put on a jiujitsu gi quite so much, but instead focused on my no-gi grappling game.

Yeah, we broke the walls. Of course I trained mostly with big dudes.

I started competing in grappling and jiujitsu tournaments. I went to almost every NAGA tournament. Kirik was friends with Kipp, the owner, so I not only competed, but helped set up and run them. This was back in the days when the girls fought the boys because there were no womens divisions. I was a blue belt.

I became super influenced by the Japanese anime Dragon Ball Z. The characters in the show train martial arts so hard, almost desperately, to defeat their enemies—powering up and getting stronger and stronger.

During the summer, I did gi training at Joao Amaral’s New England Brazilian jiujitsu academy in Everett, just outside of Boston. I trained there all summer for four years, and in 2005 when I graduated from college, I received my purple belt from him. By that point I had already started competing in MMA.

I honestly don’t know why my striking was so horrible since I started with striking arts, but I beat everybody with jiujitsu. Then I moved to Japan. In a nut shell, for the eight years I lived, worked, and trained in Japan, I think I maybe put on my JiuJitsu gi one time.

I prioritized no-gi grappling because I knew it would be more conducive to my MMA career, and I didn’t want to get confused and pull guard in an MMA fight. (I’ve actually pulled guard several times in MMA fights over my career, and none of them went very well for me.)

MMA grappling evolved rapidly. It was no longer cool to be on bottom guard, which was where I was good. Fighters became more savvy and could avoid basic submission attempts. I had to alter my style to prioritize NOT getting stuck on the bottom, but trying to always get on top. Sport jiujitsu has changed as well, however. People have begun inverting, berimbolo-ing, and crab riding constantly. Many black belt matches consist of both players simultaneously guard pulling, and then fighting leg and ankle locks in 50/50.

I’ve trained at Paraestra Kichijouji under Kotani-san and Uematsu-san, Wajyutsu Keishukai under K-Taro Nakamura and Hideki Kadowaki, AACC under Hiroyuki Abe, and Ground Slam under Shuichiro Katsumura.

Returning to the States, I joined Syndicate and became a disciple of head coach John Wood. He taught me not only striking and MMA, but lots of chain wrestling and grappling. I credit him with saving my MMA career, and teaching me how to flow better from my standup game to my ground game.

And again, at Syndicate, I chose to de-prioritize gi JiuJitsu. Finally when Alexandre “Capitao” Almeida took over teaching there, I started going to his gi classes religiously. I taught kids jiujitsu classes and my purple belt was in shambles from putting it on every day for that, but not from me learning. I felt shame every time I tied it. I didn’t just want a promotion, I wanted to raise my skill level so that would be deserving of it. I had to power up!

Finally, after committing myself back to gi for a few years, I won the Jiu Jitsu World League 2017 Super Championship. Capitao promoted me to brown belt on the podium.

It was one of my greatest accomplishments, after all the things I’d sacrificed to make room for the time and effort.

Then Capitao left Syndicate. Feeling lost, I started training with UFC fighter and jiujitsu wizard Mike Pyle exclusively. I went from being a fan girl, to bribing him for private lessons by giving him a new PS4, to becoming a regular weekly student, and friend.

We did mostly no-gi, and he developed my top half-guard/mount game. Now I can pass and mount most people (unless you’re Mike Pyle). Around the same time, I started doing gi training at Evan Dunham’s BJJ academy, mostly with Rene Lopez and Taylor “Ninja” McCorriston.

Everybody began asking me when I’d get my black belt. A fan even told me to stop sandbagging the brown belt division when I competed. But who was my main teacher now? I was working with Syndicate AND Dunham’s BJJ. Mike Pyle put three years into me, which is probably the most time I’ve spent with a single teacher. I felt stuck for a long time. However, a martial artist isn’t supposed to care about belts, only about getting better and improving oneself. That’s what I did. I relished new techniques and challenges. I decided to develop my spider guard game (Chance Vanek helped me out a lot with that).

I won IBJJF Master Worlds at Brown Belt, one of the most prestigious international tournaments in the world, in August 2019.

Then one day Evan Dunham told me that Mike would come to his gym’s open mat on Saturday Feb 15^th.

“Cool!” I said. I was happy Mike would get new high level people to roll with at Evan’s.

The next day, Mike said, “By the way, I’m going to Evan’s open mat in two weeks.”

“Right, he told me,” I said, pleased.

That week, Evan texted me. “Don’t forget, Pyle is coming to open mat.”

“Um…yeah, I know,” I replied, thinking it was a little weird he was reminding ME.

Then Mike reminded me again, “So I’ll be going to open mat this Saturday. You’re going, right?”

“Um….yes,” I said. Why do they keep telling me?

I stood at the front desk of Syndicate, chatting with my teammate Valerie when I got the text. “There’s NO WAY I’ll get…” I said, not even wanting to verbalize something that was so important to me, but also something that I’m not supposed to want. “I mean, if I do, you know, I would want both of them to be there… oh my gosh, I’m trying not to think about it. I don’t care. I have so much more I have to learn anyway.”

Her smile sparkling. “I’ll be there for open mat, so I guess we’ll see!”

That Saturday, I showed up for the 9 AM Fundamentals class, taught by Evan. At ten o’clock, open mat began, and there was Mike Pyle! We all free rolled for about and hour. Then Evan told everyone that we were going to take a break, and to line up on the wall. That never happens during open mat! I looked at Valerie, who had indeed come.

“No way,” I mouthed.

The black belts present, Evan, David Gill, and Mike, stood in front of the large class, and Evan gave a nice speech introducing Pyle. It looked like Mike had hidden something in his gi, as if maybe, say, a BELT, was tucked in there. I would know because I’ve promoted my kid students that way to surprise them. No freaking way. I must be imagining it. Then Mike started talking, introduced himself, and then called to me to step out. Yes, he pulled a black belt out from his gi.

He said it was long overdue, and that I was “a hell of a martial artist.” I was happily crying so hard I could barely hear him, so I was grateful a friend took a video I could watch later. I’ve been so grateful to Evan for believing in me, supporting me, and calling me a good role model for his kids and others. I’ve been feeling like I’m glowing inside ever since. I have been doing jiujitsu for 19 years, but martial arts for 22. Now I’ve finally received a black belt.

Some people say that once you get a black belt, you realize it’s only the beginning. I don’t exactly agree. After all, I’ve walked a very long and exciting path, training until my white belt turned black. But, I still can’t see the end of the road.

I have so much more I want to learn! After all, there are bad guys to beat up, and kids to instruct on how to be good martial artists. I want to be a good example, like the teachers that were there for me growing up.

On January 18th, in Las Vegas, NV, I claimed victory in what was the forty-fifth fight of my career. Beating Maycee Barber in the feature prelim on ESPN was a major victory for me. I jumped two spots in the UFC rankings, and had a lot of personal growth as a fighter. Maycee had a lot of hype behind her, and I overcame the odds.

Ever since, from fans, friends, and media, people have been asking: What were you thinking when….?

A lot happened in the weeks and months surrounding my fight against Barber at UFC 246.

THE BUILDUP

November 2019

I’m at home when the phone rings. It’s my head coach, John Wood. “Maycee Barber,” he says. “January 18^th in Vegas.”

”Ooo! Okay,” I tell him immediately. “Vegas? January? SWEET!” Maycee seems like a strong, game opponent with power, but has way less experience than me. For sure I can win this one. I just have to go out and do it. Anyone can win at any given time. I’m older, but I beat older, better fighters coming up myself, using pure determination and my specialty. I’ll have to be careful of her rushes, flurries, and powerful strikes.

One week before the fight

Lorenzo, my strength and conditioning coach, looks me in the eyes and puts his hands on my shoulders after our last fight conditioning session.

“I didn’t push the sled as much this fight camp…” I say, kind of hesitating. That was a really hard cardio push and we didn’t do what I normally do.

“You’re fine,” he tells me. “I designed your training according to what you needed this camp. Lots of footwork. Hard push-offs forward, backward, sideways. You are ready for this. You are ABSOLUTELY ready. You’re strong and fast and you have cardio for days. You’re not going to get beat up by this young girl. Go out there and get it!”

Yes. I’ve done my cardio. I’ve kept up my strength. I’ve been training footwork both in class and physical training. I feel faster and more well-balanced. I’ll try to be smooth—no, I will be smooth. I’ll be able to move and dart around like I never have been able to before. I mean, I’ll try…

No, I have to believe I can do it.

I need to overcome this stiff feeling I have while striking in live combat. I KNOW I CAN do it, and now I just have to go out and do it. I’ve been working on my angles, footwork, and combos with John. I’ve been doing other footwork, my power one-two, clinch, knees, and standing elbows with AJ. The ground and pound I’ve learned from John in the past has let me finish many people these last 4 years. My Jiu-Jitsu is on point. Anything can happen in the fight. Which possible future path will I walk next week? Like Flashpoint!

Every morning…

I go for a jog, and then stretch doing various yoga poses in my apartment. During this time, I think and visualize a lot.

I know I’m not seen as scary. Maybe I need to make her bleed this fight. I don’t really like that, though. Maybe if I make her bleed fans will respect me more. It’s totally AJ’s fault for influencing my thoughts with all his ‘dark side’ talk. Let’s visualize: Maycee coming in. I slip her jab and land my straight. Maybe she’ll throw back. Maybe I’ll clinch. I wanna get a head tie. Maybe I can knee. Maybe I can land an elbow. The clinch—my strikes are stronger nowadays.

“Crush her face!!!” I hear AJ say through my internal monologue.

“Your wrestling transitions are the best they’ve ever been,” John’s voice reassures me. “Underhook, take her that way. If she resists, take her the other way. Head position.”

I sprint to the fire hydrant. In my mind, I am flurrying and shooting double legs, trying with all my might to take her down.

FIGHT DAY

In the locker room

“Sit down and relax, Roxy,” John says. “You’ve got hours before you have to warm up.”

If I win, it’ll be such a relief. My next fight will be guaranteed, I’ll get double the money! If I lose… My career’s in jeopardy. No, don’t think about the consequences. Jab, slip, jab. Clinch, head-tie, knee. Maybe she’ll elbow me. I’ll pummel for the under hooks if I can get them.

Think combinations. Feint. Feint the knee. She’s been training with Ben Askren. Maybe she’ll shoot. If I lose… No. Don’t think about that. Time the ‘Billy hook’ when she comes in—jab straight. I need to show all the technique I’ve learned over the past six months! I have to do it all… No, you don’t, Roxy. Don’t force it.

“Look for what’s available,” I hear Lorenzo’s voice telling me.

I want to clinch. I need to be violent.

“Don’t force it the take-down,” John’s voice reminds me. “Create your moment. Look for what’s available.”

“Your experience will tell you what to do,” I hear Mike Pyle say in the back of my head. “And you’re body is going to react.”

“Slide in smoothly—crush her little face,” AJ again, with his ‘dark side’ talk.

Inside the cage

There she is. Hurry up and announce us. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hurry up! I can’t stand the wait.

The bell rings. We come forward, and touch gloves.

Circle. Watch out for sudden blitzes. John said fast feet. Lots of movement. Okay get closer… *CRACK*

For a second all I see is white light.

Her jab connects, jolting me. But, I recompose myself instantly.

Oh. Strong jab. Okay circle, fast feet… here I go.

I throw. She throws. I move. Her strikes whiff in front of my face. I feel the breeze. We are exchanging.

THE CLINCH! Oh… I don’t have a good grip. Now’s not the time. Dang it.

We separate, and I feel some of my strikes land.

Wow, I landed. Solid. Balanced. Mobile. Fast. Faster. Close distance. Fight for the underhooks. Whoa that was easier than I thought to get—compared to Maia. Okay, outside leg trip. Get in my half guard! Leggo of my head! Grr… Dang it, quit holding my head!

My fight against Jennifer Maia left me traumatized. All the stuff I trained for didn’t seem to work. It made me lose a lot of confidence in my technique. In the gym I found myself always saying to John, “But this didn’t work on Maia! But this happened with Maia. But I couldn’t do this with Maia!” Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes. A fighter can have good technique, but the right opponent will still shut it down. I had to move on. But, no matter my last performance, I still had a lot of confidence in my top half-guard game, thanks to my MMA grappling coach, Mike Pyle.

Throughout the rest of the round, Maycee does a good job keeping me close, so I can’t ground-and-pound. It’s super annoying. Still, that also means she can’t escape. She has to make space to escape. But if she make space, she’ll eat my elbows.

Second round starts

I stick her with a stiff jab and she falls down.

My punches felt strong! Weird, she cried out in pain. Ground-and-pound. Jiujitsu. Mount. Elbow. Reversal. Okay, there’s blood. That’s fine. But… lots of blood. Her blood in my MOUTH! Eww. Eww! Blah! I spit it out a few times off to the side. Blood everywhere—slippery. But, I’m winning.

Arm bar maybe? Flower sweep maybe? YES, flower sweep! Heck yeah.

Must elbow. Leggo of my arms. Must elbow. Must finish. Must win. Must win. Must finish. Now’s my chance. My chance! What if I lose this chance?! My only chance? Must finish. My life. My career. Everything. Elbows.

Round two ends

I’m happy heading back to my corner, knowing I’ve won the first two rounds. It’s never best to bank on what’ll happen in the third, though.

So far so good. Bell rang. The ref went over. The doctor came in. What are they doing? *squint* Doctors come in to check cuts. They’re checking her cut. I’d hate for them to stop it.

No, wait, I need a win no matter what. I’ll take a win via cut stoppage, I guess. I kinda wanna keep going. Are they going to stop it? Why are they telling her to sit down? Why is she sitting down? What’s the doc doing to her knee? Are they going to stop it? Yes, stop it. No, don’t stop it. I want to fight. But I want the win. AAARG! Focus. What are they doing?

“He’s just checking her knee,” referee Jason Herzog tells me. “Stay ready.”

“Her knee is hurt! Try and keep it standing!” I hear coach John shout. “Make her stand up!”

Ah, okay. So that’s why she cried out in pain. That sucks for her. Okay, so that means she won’t be as mobile. I’ll be faster. Move a lot; In and out, one-two. Land the straight. Bell rang, be patient. Wow, my strikes are landing. *boom* Owch, she’s still dangerous! Got me there. Patient. Mine connected… she fell down! Wanted to strike more. Welp, okay, I guess.

She cries out in pain again. “I’m sorry,” I tell her, as I fall upon her. I feel sorry for her injury and pain, but I’ll keep trying to hit her without regret. Sorry, but I have to beat you.

“It’s the game,” she gasps in reply, fighting on—struggling to stand up. I respect her so much at this moment. She is obviously in pain, but knows that she has to try and win anyway, despite it. Ignore, fight through the pain. Never give up; win anyway. Always try to stand up. Have confidence in yourself and give 100% of yourself to the fight. That is my ‘way,’ as well.

Win anyway—fighting is not fair.

You have to win no matter what. Hurt, tired, rocked, sick, you have to find a way to win anyway. Maycee and I both know that. I’ve fought people who missed weight, they didn’t feel bad beating me. I’ve fought injured, myself, and lost—but the L still went on my record despite it. Once you get in that cage, you have to win anyway. The loser will be haunted by the ‘what if?’ They’ll never know. I always feel compassion for that, having experienced it 16 times.

Back in the fight, she still feels strong. She manages to reverse me and get on top. I’m avoiding and ducking her elbows. And soon, I’m back in top position. Standing now, and I still have to be careful. She’s ranked in the top ten for a reason, having TKO-ed her last five opponents. I use my strength and skill to get the better of her. By now my corner has given up shouting for me to stand. They’re calling out grappling guidance points instead.

I can hear everything John and AJ say. I’m following directions like a fighting video game avatar.

POST FIGHT

The fight ends. I’m covered in her blood. AJ holds out my T-shirt for me to put on. I don’t want to get blood on it, but he makes me. I feel kind of bad-@$$. DO I LOOK SCARY YET?!

All I can think about is how he kept telling me to cut her face off every day in training, and I succeeded! “Off,” though?

I want to make him and John proud so badly. SO badly. I want Mike to be proud of my Jiu-Jitsu game and see all his moves I learned from him. I was good with my movement and felt stronger. Lorenzo will be proud.

My name is announced as the winner, and relief floods through me—cooling the fiery fight-energy like a peaceful, blissful lake. Joe Rogan approaches me.

Ooh how cool! I’ve always wanted to be interviewed by Joe Rogan! Dude! I’ve visualized this moment for so long!

Excitement sparks up like fire crackers, around the cool lake of relief.

Okay, okay, I gotta remember to shout out to everybody. John Wood, AJ Matthews, Mike Pyle, Lorenzo Pavlica… I’ve been rehearsing. Once I forgot to thank Lorenzo and felt horrible. I’ll say “Team Syndicate… I wanna stay in the top ten rankings…”

“Can I say something, please?” Maycee says, reaching for the mic.

I stare at her, trying to not forget what I planned to say. Oh she’s talking. Maybe she has something epic to say. Joe Rogan looks curious. She’s holding a monster can. Thirsty? No, Roxy, that means sponsorship. She’s sponsored by Monster? That would be nice to be sponsored by Monster.

Dang. She’s saying it’s an honor to fight me. How nice! That was really cool to say. Now she’s apologizing… but not for her performance? ‘…because it makes me shine.’ Hmm. Wait. a. second… is that… a nice thing? Doesn’t that make me sound… bad? Maybe? Is she confused? I’m confused. Did she mean that, or just not think that one through? Okay, Joe is coming, so I gotta thank John.

I remember everything I planned to say. I can’t be angry about anything in the aftermath. I have won, after all.

In the days that have followed, I’ve been surprised and puzzled her father would release a statement about his daughter losing to “bad luck,” rather than my superior skill-set. However, fathers are supposed to be biased.

I wouldn’t want my kids, if I ever have any, doing MMA. My parents certainly can’t wait for me to retire, so I can forgive anything her parents will ever say. All I care about is what my coaches, and those in charge at the UFC, think.

I want to show the world the martial artist spirit of honor. I’m also thrilled that fans, commentators, everybody noticed my improvements and gave me credit for the win—despite Maycee’s knee injury.

Maycee and her father keep talking about her leg being injured early on in the fight. Well, she has to win anyway. Other fighters have. I can’t let that bum me out. I know I would have won anyway, even if her leg weren’t injured.

Everybody has been telling me it’s the best performance of my life. I had wanted to show off more striking, however, I’m extremely pleased with my performance and can’t wait to see what the future holds for me. It will be a different ‘Future’ than many anticipated.

The world hasn’t even seen all the new weapons I’ve acquired!

“Fighting is in our DNA.”

When a fight breaks out, we all look. The energy, the excitement, the emotions; the technique, the fighters—there is so much that calls our attention.

Mixed Martial Arts has evolved a lot over time, but one thing hasn’t changed: it’s always been a mix of sports and entertainment. I’m undecided what percentage I want to assign to each (maybe just 50/50?). I assume many fans don’t really think of these things, because for them, it’s 100% entertainment. However, fighters absolutely need to. Our paychecks come from fans paying to see us fight, and how actively fans want to be involved with mixed martial arts.

MMA, formerly known as ‘vale tudo’ or no-holds-barred (NHB), has been sold as an athletic competition where combatants look to knock out, submit, or outpoint their opponents. As the competition has evolved, fighters must daily train their bodies to do the tasks, and their minds to withstand not only the fight itself, but also all the stress, anxiety, and pressure leading up to their bout. Every day fighters focus on training, training, training. We do physical conditioning exercises like jumps, to build explosive power. We lift heavy weights, to be able to lift our opponents at weird angles and slam them back to the ground. During the actual fight, if an athlete lands more strikes or dominates on the ground, they’re likely to get the decision victory.

Sure, the violence is entertaining, the cool spinning *bleep* is fantastic, but if someone viewers think of as their friend is fighting, they’ll obviously be more emotionally invested than watching someone they don’t know. Therefore, promotions want fans to get to know the fighters. As an MMA fan, analyze yourself: when you watch MMA, do you watch all the video interviews leading up to the fight? Do you read all the written articles on every single one of the fighters? Do you only follow the news about the stars with the biggest name and drama, or only people you know personally? How much MMA merchandise do you have? Have you cried when your favorite fighter lost?

Before I fought, I used to try and keep up with the people on the main card who were hyped. But these days, I’ve been in the fight game for so long now that I’ve stopped caring about anyone except my fighter friends, teammates, or whoever is in the same weight class as me.

Promotion Impacts Perception

In PRIDE, the emphasis was definitely on entertainment value! This could mean hot, technical match ups, like Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva—or PRIDE 10’s Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Renzo Gracie. But the organization was also just as famous for putting on ‘freak show’ fights. Bouts disregarding weight classes, rankings, and styles; putting an emphasis on heart, look, and uniqueness.

‘The Beast’ Bob Sapp against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira was one of the promotion’s most famous examples. The 320 lb former American Football player, Pro Wrestler, and pro fighter fought the Brazilian, despite a weight difference of 127 pounds. Sapp slammed and pummeled Nogueira repeatedly until he gassed out, allowing a battered Nogueria to armbar him. It was an epic battle of strength, heart, and – eventually – technique.

And there were bouts like ‘Giant’ Silva vs Minowaman. #bravery

The promotion hired Lenne Hardt as their ring announcer, who screamed out and trilled fighters’ names, and became known to many as the ‘crazy PRIDE lady.’ Smoke billowed out during the opening ceremony. A giant statue of a hand rotated on stage. Fighters were encouraged to have crazy walk-outs. Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller hired dancing girls to accompany him.

Ratings were very high. PRIDE had a great TV deal and the stadiums were packed… R.I.P., PRIDE never die.

Professional Fighters League (PFL) advertises itself as a “True Sport Format,” and may be the closest to pure sport in terms of how the tournaments are put together.

Points are given to the fighters for various factors, which then add up and decide the next opponent in a tournament-style set-up. The first place winner then gets a whopping prize of one million dollars.

A win equals three points, a draw gives you one, a loss is zero. A first round stoppage gets you three bonus points, second round two points, and third round finish gets one. An example would be, a first round TKO win gets you six points. One of my teammates fought the same guy twice in a row, just due to how the points added up. It’s broadcast on ESPN 2 (which is a paying subscription), and ESPN +, which is an online streaming subscription channel. I’m not quite sure where ratings stand at this point.

The UFC is a great big mix of sports and entertainment, and I’ve tried to comprehend it’s workings for years. On the sports side of things, the fighters talk about their training, preparation, and stylistic match ups. Coaches are interviewed. Highlight videos show interesting moves or especially violent knockouts where athletic performance is highlighted. The UFC Performance Institute was built for fighters to get complimentary physical training, rehabilitation, meals, and recovery.

On the entertainment side, the UFC also has “UFC Embedded” video clips of the popular fighters during fight week leading up to the fight, at home, or training. Major media sites get interviews with the stars to hear what they have to say. Trash talk is encouraged and emphasized to drum up interest. Unique hobbies and personality points of fighters are highlighted. Commercials are shown on TV, the internet, and billboards on the sides of roads and highways.

UFC Rankings are decided upon by a panel of journalists who vote. Rankings play a role in match making but do not automatically decide things. Who fights who? It’s fair that the winners should move up in ranking to fight someone else highly ranked. But which person?

There are hundreds of fighters champing at the bit to fight, but only so many spots on cards. It seems like some fighters can fight whenever they want, because they make the company millions of dollars. Oh, Derrick Lewis just said, “My balls was hot.” We all wanna see him/ hear him again soon, so we’ll give him a fight on an upcoming card—rather than stick in a lesser-known fighter with a less outstanding personality, who has been waiting longer.

That’s the correct business decision, right? If there is hype, the business should exploit that. We can all guess who will talk smack with who, and build up hype. And that will, in turn, sell a lot of tickets. That being said, I think the UFC does a great job of allowing fighters to work their way to a title shot based on the quality of their performances.

Are you not entertained?

I honestly don’t give a lot of thought to ‘entertaining the fans’ going into a fight, although I hear other fighters say in interviews that’s their goal. I just wanna win. Thankfully, my fighting style is entertaining, so don’t have to worry about ‘trying.’ I march forward with urgency (sometimes too much urgency) and try to hit my opponent in the face before taking them down and smashing my elbows into their forehead. I’ve been told that’s pretty entertaining.

What I really want is to win and make friends with my fans! All of them. I try to reply to people’s comments and ALWAYS to people’s messages. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice back. I am ‘The Happy Warrior,’ after all. I don’t have hundreds of thousands of followers like other girls who post sexy bikini pictures (I only post cosplay pics. My Kitana wasn’t bad, though, if I may say so myself). However, I have a lot of fans who are nerds, fans of anime, sci-fi, Star Wars, and Jiu-Jitsu. I hope entertain them a lot with my social media posts, because I certainly entertain myself!

Interacting with fans is always important! It doesn’t even matter how, when it comes to entertainment value. As Ronda Rousey once said, “Hate me or love me, you’re gonna watch me.” If fighters are rude to fans and make them dislike us, they’ll still tune in hoping to see us lose.

Thus, social media – and media in general – is a major portion of the entertainment part of our job—and lots of fighters choose to ignore it. Yeah, we’re doing a sport, but there’s so much competition to get fights. You’ve gotta be more interesting than your fellow fighters. Some grudgingly admit social media is necessary, but don’t want to put the effort in. Others hate it. Some love it, and post everything they eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus their sweaty faces while jogging down the street every day.

Luckily for the former, social media isn’t a requirement, but always encouraged by promotions. Hundreds of thousands of followers can also land a fighter sponsorships for companies who have products that they want seen by hundreds of thousands of eyes every week. Clothing, meal prep, and recently CBD oil is popular.

DON’T STOP THE FIGHT! Let them fall!

I also want to mention the speed at which a fight is stopped. It’s gotten faster and faster over the years. I’m old school—I want to see a fighter fall down, basically knocked out, or covered in blood from a cut before a ref stops the fight. This is battle to me. Maybe it’s part of the ‘evolution of MMA from a brawl to sports’ and I started fighting in the ‘battle’ era. I HATE when a fighter is still on their feet, wobbling around, trying to stay in it, trying to have a warrior spirit, and the ref waves off the fight. Let them fall! They’re still standing! How could you take that away from them? What about their strong hearts?

I say, let them fall. This is a dangerous, fighting sport, not ballet. Brain damage? I know, I signed a waiver. Let me fight.

Thankfully, this never happened to me. I’ve never gotten overwhelmed on my feet, and the only two times I got knocked out were by powerbomb slams. The first time, I was out and stopped moving, so there was never a doubt. The second time, against Jessica Rakoczy on the Ultimate Fighter – Season 18, I tried to climb back to my feet. But I was so dizzy, I wobbled and fell down again. I am very grateful to my ref at the time, Chris Tiogni, who saw me struggle, but let me try. As my opponent rushed over, then he stopped it.

I think as MMA has become more and more mainstream over the years, the fan-base has expanded to ‘casual viewers’; fans who might tune in if an event were on TV, but might not bother to order a pay-per-view. Blood pouring out of open wounds and brutality isn’t exactly family dinner-table appropriate.

Refs say “our job is to protect the fighter,” but think about it. We’re trying to pummel each other into unconsciousness.

Everything may be 100% about entertainment for the fan. But, for the fighter, I think we should consider social media and day-to-day presentation as part of our ‘entertainment’ job. And then, let that go on fight day, and focus on the sporting aspect. Some are able to keep it up and do a special dance, or strut, or talk smack in the ring. We have to juggle a lot, and aren’t always given guidance on how to go about doing it.

And, since I’m actually an extremely talented artist, I decided to include a cute little pie chart with my thoughts. I think I’ve got it about right.