Australian flyweight Casey O’Neill said she isn’t worried about spoling Roxanne Modafferi’s farewell party when the two meet at UFC 271 on Sunday.
O’Neill’s star is quickly rising. She has enjoyed a perfect record of 8-0 as a professional fighter, including three wins in the past 12 months since debuting in the UFC.
The 24-year-old’s family moved from Scotland to Queensland, where she began jiu jitsu as a teenager.
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She acknowledged that given it’s her opponent’s retirement fight, after a trailblazing career in women’s MMA, it was probably the biggest match-up of her career.
But how the 39-year-old is sent off is none of O’Neill’s concern.
“I don’t care – it doesn’t change anything for me. My career goes on the same, this is just another step in my journey,” she said.
“What she does is on her.”
Despite that stern warning, O’Neill did praise her opponent while adding that Sunday (AEDT) would be a changing of the guard.
“I respect everything that she’s done for female mixed martial arts, for sure.
“She was fighting before any of us were underground, and that’s awesome and good for her but this is my time, I’m the new era and I’m going to show that.”
Moddafieri, who made her professional debut as a fighter when O’Neill was just seven, enjoyed a long-spanning career around the world before becoming a permanent fixture in the UFC back in 2017.
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She has well and truly deserved the adulation she’s received during the lead-up, but her opponent has had enough.
“People are forgetting she’s lost three fights in a row – she’s on her way out, and she’s done great things in the past for sure but I’m all about myself and I feel like it’s been talked about enough now,” O’Neill said.
“We all know she’s retiring, it doesn’t change anything.”
The Australian said she was more excited to be in front of a packed out crowd than anything else – all three of her UFC fights so far coming in COVID-affected cards at the company’s in-house facility.
“Every fight feels like the biggest fight of my career, but this is what I dreamed of when I signed with the UFC, was getting that crowd and having that moment in front of them.
“It’s just nice to feel the energy of a proper fight week for once.”
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