One of the true pioneers of women’s MMA has decided to hang up her gloves after one final fight – her 50th.
Roxanne Modafferi (25-19 MMA, 4-7 UFC) on Thursday announced a women’s flyweight fight booking against Casey O’Neill (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for UFC 271. Modafferi made the announcement on her Instagram account, though the UFC has not yet made the matchup official.
UFC 271 takes place Feb. 12, but does not yet have an announced city or venue. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. The placement of the Modafferi-O’Neill bout is not yet known.
Modafferi has 44 pro fights on her official record, but had another five bouts on two separate seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which bring her unofficial tally to 49. And by her count, that will bring the overall number of fights, including the exhibition bouts on “TUF,” up to 50 when she steps in the cage with O’Neill.
The 39-year-old Modafferi, who startedd her career in 2003, has dropped three of her past four fights, all by decision. The Las Vegas-based jiu-jitsu standout hasn’t been finished in a fight since October 2011.
Modafferi alternated wins and losses for 10 straight fights before a second straight setback in September – a loss to Taila Santos at UFC 266. Prior to that, she was outpointed by Viviane Araujo in January on the heels of an upset win over Andrea Lee in September 2020. Modafferi’s most recent three wins, in fact, have been significant upsets against Lee, Maycee Barber and Antonina Shevchenko.
O’Neill, who has but a fraction of the pro experience of Modafferi, stayed perfect in October when she stopped Shevchenko with a second-round TKO. She debuted in the UFC earlier this year with a second-round TKO of Shana Dobson in February and followed that up with a third-round submission of Lara Procopio in June, which gave her four straight finishes overall.
With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
- Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
- AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
- Kyler Phillips vs. Marcelo Rojo
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill
Roxanne Modafferi announces retirement fight vs. Casey O’Neill at UFC 271
