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Amidst all the trash-talking that is usually seen leading up to a fight, there are some instances of friendly advice and extending of a helpful hand.
A similar thing happened between Maycee Barber and Roxanne Modafferi ahead of their clash on January 18. The latter sent a thoughtful message to her opponent, and Barber went on to post a screenshot of the same on her profile, acknowledging the gesture.
Previously unaware of the fact that her direct message was publicly posted, Modafferi shared with MMA Junkie her reason for sending the text.
Roxanne Modafferi: It's just a courtesy to a fellow fighter
In the text message, Modafferi warned Barber that their hotel rooms might not have bathtubs, which is something both the fighters use to cut weight. According to her, the two had a conversation previously at the UFC Performance Institute where they talked about their preferred mode of weight cutting.
Modafferi shared that post their conversation, she decided to check the same with the hotel, and when she found out that bathtubs were not available in their reserved rooms, she decided to give Barber a heads up out of courtesy.
"Well, if she’s going to count on that, and we’re supposed to make weight for this fight,’ so I let her know. It’s just courtesy to a fellow fighter. You might want to make other plans, so I think the UFC is going to work it all out and hopefully they get us different rooms, but yeah."
When asked why she decided to help out her opponent, she explained her intentions behind the action.
"Well, first of all, I like her. I’ve ran into her a few times, and she only talks about working hard, and I like that. She never talked bad about me, too, and also I really want her to make weight because I’ve had bad luck against opponents who’ve missed weight before. So it’s not really a selfish reason I contacted her, but I want her to be healthy, make weight, and we both make weight and have a good fight, throw down and I’m going to win. But I want her to be healthy."
Here is the screenshot of the conversation with Modafferi that Barber posted on her profile.
The two will lock horns at UFC 246 on January 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
