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The ever-positive Modafferi considered retirement, but something in the pit of her stomach told her to soldier on instead.
“I just had this gut feeling like, ‘I can still improve and I still have potential,’” she said, reflecting on her decision to continue fighting while suffering through the worst stretch of her professional career. “There was something I didn’t have, and I knew I could improve.
“If I start getting knocked out every fight and my chin goes or I start getting concussions, that’s probably when I’m going to retire, but back during that rough stretch, I just had this feeling that I could do more. I needed a better coach, I needed something and I was just still looking for that something.”
The something she needed turned out to be a move to Las Vegas, a shift to training at Syndicate MMA under head coach John Wood, and a strength and conditioning program crafted by her coach, Lorenzo Pavlica.
Following her move to the “Fight Capital of the World,” the 37-year-old veteran rattled off a 6-2 run with victories over Tara LaRosa, Andrea Lee, DeAnna Bennett, and Sarah D’Aleilo, joined the cast of The Ultimate Fighter for a second time, and fought for UFC gold.
Over the last three years, Modafferi has established herself as a legitimate threat in the 125-pound weight class, earning wins over Barb Honchak, Antonina Shevchenko, and Maycee Barber, while dropping a pair of decisions to opponents who failed to make weight, Sijara Eubanks and Jennifer Maia.