Roxanne Modafferi is just one of a handful of fighters who have competed on multiple seasons of the UFC Ultimate Fighter.
The reality show star says the coaches on TUF 26 (Eddie Alvarez & Justin Gaethje) are better than the coaches on TUF 18 (Ronda Rousey & Miesha Tate) due to the lack of personal drama between the coaches this season.
“It was so nice to not have the coaches fight each other, or bickering at each other,” Modafferi said at a media breakfast. “Honestly, it was way less stressful for us. I was actually kinda worried that maybe it wouldn’t be as popular on TV because of that, because I know people like drama in that way. They were very competitive, Justin and (Eddie), but still they weren’t as heated as the former coaches, my former coaches, so that was really nice. I think the way [TUF 26] was put together was the same, just the cast was different and that made a big difference. I feel like I made friends with everybody on the season, and I wasn’t constantly injured on this season like I was on my past season. That didn’t really get any coverage. But yeah, I liked this season better.”
Modafferi made it to the quarterfinals of TUF 18 before losing to Jessica Rakoczy by second round TKO. The fighter is currently still in the tournament to crown the first UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion, which is what the winner of the reality show will become.
Even though this is her second chance on TUF, the longtime MMA veteran is doing her best not to put any additional pressure on herself.
“I tried not to put pressure on myself,” Modafferi said. “I tried not to think so much about the big picture, I just tried to think fight by fight, and I respect anybody who gets in the cage. I believe everybody has a chance to win at any time. Everyone has skills, everyone is strong, so I looked at the fight with [Dobson] just (the same as) a fight for the championship of Invicta or UFC title or whatever. Just do my best, everything I have, see what techniques I can use in the fight, and may the best person on that night win, you know? Sometimes all of your best doesn’t come out in one night. Sometimes you’re not your best and the other person gets lucky, or vice versa, or whatever. There are many things that happen in the fight itself, leading up to the fight, physically, mentally. You wake up, you feel crappy, you didn’t sleep, whatever. So all you can do is go do your best.”
UFC Ultimate Fighter 26 airs every Wednesday at 10pm EST. on Fox Sports 1, the finale takes place on Friday, December 1.
