Pre-fight Analysis

UFC 258: Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber Preview

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UFC 258 will be co-headlined by two women’s flyweight contenders. Maycee Barber will put her number 10 ranking on the line against number 15 ranked, Alexa Grasso. Both women will be looking to get a fight inside the top five with a win on Saturday. Making the winner one step closer to challenging for the women’s flyweight title.

Alexa Grasso (12-3)

Alexa Grasso has a 4-3 record in the UFC. She has never had back to back wins or back to back losses in her UFC career. Grasso won her last fight via unanimous decision over Ji Yeon Kim in August of 2020. She also holds UFC wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Randa Markos, and Heather Jo Clark. Racking up wins over Jodie Esquibel and Mizuki Inoue in Invicta FC prior to her days in the UFC. Grasso has only been finished once in her career. That being a submission loss to Tatiana Suarez in 2018. She currently holds a purple belt in Brazillian Jiujitsu but has yet to finish anyone by submission in her pro career.

Maycee Barber (8-1)

Maycee Barber will be making her return after being away from the octagon since January 2020 with a knee injury. Her last fight was her only loss in her career. She lost a unanimous decision to Roxanne Modafferi.

Barber turned pro at the age of 19 after one mature fight. Barber started her professional career 4-0 before getting her shot at the contender series. Then, she won her UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 with a TKO win over Jamie Colleen. She began her UFC stint going 3-0 before losing to Modafferi. Her three wins were all TKO’s over Hannah Cifers, JJ Aldrich, and Gillian Robertson. Barber has finished seven out of her eight wins. With five of them being knockouts and two of them being submissions.

The Matchup

Neither woman will be giving up a high advantage. With Grasso having a slight one-inch reach advantage. Both women are young and hungry with Barber being 22 years old and Grasso being 27. Grasso will hold a slight experience advantage though. As she has 15 pro fights. Whereas Barber only has nine pro fights. Grasso has also been in the UFC for about two years longer than Barber. Both women have great striking and grappling so this is a very evenly matched fight.

UFC 258 Fight Card:

Main Card:

  • Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns
  • Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grassso
  • Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch
  • Andre Ewell vs. Chris Guttierrez
  • Maki Pitolo vs. Julian Marquez

Preliminary Card:

  • Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
  • Rodolfo Viera vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima
  • Polyana Viana vs. Mallory Martin

Early Preliminary Card:

  • Ricky Simon vs. Brian Kelleher
  • Gabriel Green vs. Phillip Rowe
  • Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick

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My name is Michael Lynch. I’m originally from Long Island, NY, but I reside in Columbia, Sc. I’ve been covering MMA for almost two years now. I’ve covered events such as Island fights and the PFL. I also have a YouTube channel where I do fight companions and UFC fight previews. I have recently started to train in mma and would like to have my first fight in 2020. I believe that as a journalist I need to experience what these fighters go threw, in order to understand their POV.

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