Maycee Barber was on the wrong end of a decision win by Alexa Grasso at UFC 258 this weekend. It was the second fight in a row where the flyweight was beaten on the judges’ scorecards. The first was her loss to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in January 2020.
Before those two defeats, Barber was 8-0 with four straight TKO wins inside of the Octagon. That form had the 22-year-old vowing to be the youngest champion in UFC history.
However, with these losses now on her record, Barber will need to pull off something special over the remainder of the year to reach her goal of snatching a belt before January 18 2022.
After UFC 258 UFC President Dana White told reporters he still felt Barber was capable of doing big things in his organisation.
“She’s a savage,” said White (per MMA Junkie). “She’s a savage. She’s one of the most ambitious and toughest young women that I’ve ever met. So I expect nothing but big things from her. She’s a baby still. She’s young. She’s got nothing but time.”
“I know she put this unbelievable pressure on herself to be a champion before Jon Jones, and it’s good to set goals for yourself,” continued White. “But she’s a baby, she’s got nothing but time, and she’s only going to get better.”
Barber started her pro career in LFA in 2017, when she was just 19. After four wins with that promotion, including a win over current UFC fighter Mallory Martin, Barber was invited to appear on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.
On that show Barber beat Jamie Colleen with vicious elbow strikes and earned a precious UFC contract. Her full UFC debut was a TKO over Hannah Cifers in 2018. In 2019 she reeled off back-to-back TKOs of JJ Aldrich and Gillian Robertson.
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