Summary of my 35th year of life!!

It’s my birthday tomorrow. Man, I feel younger at 36 than I did between the ages of 25 and 30! I was so beat up and injured constantly from training all the time, always exhausted from working full-time, training a lot, and sleeping a little. Now thanks to Teri, my massage therapist, Lorenzo my strength and conditioning trainer, Jake Steckel when I first came to Vegas, and smarter training, I feel great and strong. At 30 in Japan, I barely was able to complete a training session and considering retiring until the Ultimate Fighter Season 18 happened.

Anyway, this entry is a reflection on my 35th year of life. It was awesome. My year started out just getting out of TUF 26 and watching it on TV from September to December!

I had a great trip to Japan last September and saw a lot of friends and old teammates.

In October last year, Bobby (Amanda Bobby Cooper visited for a few weeks to train! That was fun!)



Lots of success with my kids class and numbers are ever growing!

Wesley stopped being able to come, which I’m sad about because I love him, and Bailee moved away, which makes me sad but I wish them both the best of luck and jiujitsu in their future!

A big change in my life was my professor Captain leaving the gym, but he still came to help me train for a potential fight on the TUF Finale card. My jiujitsu life went through an upheaval.

I really noticed a lot of strength gains by training with Lorenzo that really started paying off this year! We’ve been training together about three years as of this fall, I think.

I was slated to fight Barb on the finale but Sarj couldn’t compete and I got the opportunity to fight for the UFC TITLE! Experience of a lifetime that every fighter wants! I’m so thrilled I could have it!

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 01: (R-L) Roxanne Modafferi punches Nicco Montano in their women’s flyweight championship bout during the TUF Finale event inside Park Theater on December 01, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

I couldn’t win, though.