Roxanne Modafferi Upsets Tara LaRosa At MoosinIn a highly-anticipated rematch over four years in the making, Roxanne Modafferi avenged a 2006 loss in a big way when she upset female pound-for-pound standout Tara LaRosa at Moosin: “Sylvia vs Pudzianowski” tonight. The fight was a candidate for Women’s MMA Fight of the Year.

Modafferi dropped LaRosa in the first round and battled through an even second stanza, then trapped LaRosa in a lengthy triangle choke in the final five minutes. LaRosa escaped and made it to the bell, but Modafferi was awarded with a Split Decision in a tremendous victory.

Modafferi (15-5-0) was aggressive right from the start and employed a wide variety of strikes that kept LaRosa (18-2-0) guessing. LaRosa scored a takedown in the opening round, but Modafferi worked back to her feet and took control in the late stages as she dropped LaRosa and threw punches until the bell. Modafferi remained in control throughout much of a razor-thin second round, but LaRosa appeared to do enough to steal it in the final minute with quick combinations and a takedown.

With the fight seemingly up for grabs, LaRosa staggered Modafferi with a counter one-two in round three. Modafferi fell and LaRosa immediately looked to finish the fight, but Modafferi countered with a triangle choke and maintained the hold for some time. She switched to an armbar, then fought back to her feet. LaRosa stayed strong and scored another takedown, but Modafferi escaped and the fighters traded strikes in the final 60 seconds. Two judges sided with Modafferi, while one gave the nod to LaRosa, who suffered her first loss in seven years.

Having dethroned LaRosa, the current number two-ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, Modafferi may soon find herself at the top of the Bantamweight division in next month’s Unified Women’s MMA Rankings. A full report and play-by-play from tonight’s bout between Modafferi and LaRosa can be found here.

 

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)