Roxanne Modafferi on Final Bout: ‘I Was Able to Fight with Mental Clarity That I’ve Never Had’

Even in defeat, Roxanne Modafferi ended her mixed martial arts career on a positive note.

“The Happy Warrior” called it a career following a split-decision loss to Casey O'Neill at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston this past Saturday night. Modafferi exits the sport at 39 years old, with a 25-20 record compiled since the beginning of her professional tenure in 2003.

“I’m very honored and very deeply touched by the reception that the fans gave me,” Modafferi told assembled media after the fight. “And I really tried to remember that moment and know that everyone’s proud of me and is cheering for me and that was really cool, so thank you everybody.”

Though it might sound cliche, Modafferi truly did her best to leave it all in the cage against O’Neill. Though she was outlanded by a 229-to-120 count in significant strikes, Modafferi was pleased with her performance overall.

“I threw a lot of stuff. I’m really, really happy. I was very sad at first. First I was numb, then I was sad. Then I realize that I had thrown everything that I wanted to throw,” she said. “As a martial artist, my goal is to really show that I’ve gotten stronger… I was able to fight with a mental clarity that I’ve never had before. I really, really wanted it. I wanted to leave the Octagon saying, I got stronger because I trained really hard. And I did. So I’m happy.”

While the undefeated O’Neill appeared to be in control throughout the contest, there was a brief moment when the scorecards were announced when it appeared that Modafferi might earn a controversial split verdict. In the end, O’Neill was still able to bank two of the three cageside judges scorecards.

“I kind of thought I won,” Modafferi said. “I know we both hit each other a lot. I hit her with some great stuff and I took her down a couple of times. I thought I might’ve gotten the victory. She also hit me a bunch.

“I was happy while they were doing the split, although I wanted the victory. But congrats to her. She’s a really strong competitor.”