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Roxanne Modafferi will make history at UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega by competing in the highest number of professional fights in women's mixed martial arts history.
Her UFC 266 preliminary card scrap against Taila Santos will be the 44th professional fight of Roxanne Modafferi's career. As per available records, only two others in women's MMA have fought 44 times inside the cage. Japanese fighters Masako Yoshida (18-21-5) and Satoko Shinashi (38-4-2) have achieved the feat.
Roxanne Modafferi is the first female fighter in the UFC to reach this milestone. 'The Happy Warrior' pointed out on Twitter that Saturday's bout will be her 49th MMA outing if her TUF scraps are included in the count.
Between September 2013 and November 2017 (air dates), Roxanne Modafferi participated in five The Ultimate Fighter bouts, winning three and losing two.
Roxanne Modafferi dropped a decision to Brazil's Viviane Araujo last time she fought. Ever since her UFC debut in December 2017 at the TUF 26 Finale against Nicco Montano, Roxanne Modafferi has failed to amass a winning streak.
Before joining the UFC, she competed in multiple promotions over the years, including Invicta FC and Strikeforce.
Roxanne Modafferi channeled her inner anime fan at the UFC 266 weigh-ins
At the UFC 266 official weigh-ins on Friday evening, Roxanne Modafferi successfully made the flyweight mark, tipping the scale at 125.5lbs. In celebration, she posed for the cameras with the iconic fist-on-the-chest salute of the Scout Regiment or Survey Corps from the classic anime series Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin).
Roxanne Modafferi can be considered one of the biggest anime aficionados in the UFC. Another would be middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who is often seen enacting anime poses inside the octagon. He has often been heard talking about his passion for nerd culture.
Modafferi hinted at what she would be doing at the weigh-ins with an Attack on Titan tweet earlier.
This is not the first time Modafferi has given a nod to her love for anime at a UFC event. During the weigh-ins for UFC 246 in January 2020, where she faced fan-favorite Maycee Barber and lost via decision, Roxanne Modafferi paid homage to Dragon Ball Z with a Majin Vegeta wig and face tattoo.
Watch the video below [0:50 onwards]:
In the 2018 interview below, she talks about how she grew up with the anime series and why she related to the character that she cosplayed as at the UFC 246 weigh-ins.
Roxanne Modafferi was originally scheduled to meet Tatiana Suarez at UFC 266 on Saturday, September 25 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, the latter had to pull out due to an injury. Suarez was replaced by Taila Santos, whom Modafferi was set to fight in May before she had to withdraw because of a meniscus tear.
