Women’s Flyweight Co-Headliner Eager to Even Up Series in Seattle Rematch
Maycee Barber (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is a woman on a mission this weekend. This Saturday night, the UFC makes its second trip in as many years to the Pacific Northwest for UFC Seattle. While the main event of UFC Seattle will feature an anticipated ...
Maycee Barber (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is a woman on a mission this weekend. This Saturday night, the UFC makes its second trip in as many years to the Pacific Northwest for UFC Seattle.
While the main event of UFC Seattle will feature an anticipated showdown at 185 lbs between Israel Adesanya and Joe Pyfer, the co-main attraction of the evening this weekend is equally anticipated for Barber and her camp. In the co-headlining affair, Maycee Barber will square off against Alexa Grasso (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC.)
Saturday’s UFC Seattle co-main event between Barber, the No. 5 contender at women’s flyweight and Grasso, the No. 3 contender at 125, is a rematch a little more than five years in the making. On the night of Feb. 13, 2021, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso fought for the first time inside the now-Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV in UFC 258.
Like the rematch on Saturday night, the first bout between Barber and Grasso also was the co-main event of the evening. After three rounds of action, the latter emerged victorious on the scorecards by way of unanimous decision.
Numerically speaking, the co-headlining bout of UFC 258 saw Maycee Barber get outpaced in total strikes by a final margin of 95-50 over the 15 minutes. Barber did record a 3-0 shutout in terms of takedown attempts, successfully completing 60 percent of those efforts on the evening.
Now, roughly 61 1/2 months after the initial contest, she’s ready to knot up the all-time series with Alexa Grasso at one win apiece.
Maycee Barber Hungry for Decisive Win vs. Alexa Grasso in Rematch Saturday Night
Wednesday, Brian Campbell of CBS Sports interviewed Maycee Barber ahead of the UFC Seattle co-main event. She mentioned that she’s thrilled to have another opportunity to fight Grasso.
“It feels so good,” Maycee Barber said of the rematch this weekend. “It feels like a long time coming. I’m just really excited for it and I’m ready.”
Barber. who has won seven consecutive fights heading into the Saturday night co-main event, discussed her evolution as a contender since her defeat in the first contest vs. Grasso over the Valentine’s Day weekend five years back.
“I am a completely different fighter than the girl that she fought that many years ago,” she mentioned. “The only thing that she has to remember about me is that she doesn’t want to fight the girl that she fought in the third round and the only difference is I am so much better than that girl. I’m just as mean, if not meaner.”
Maycee Barber on Intensity Once Cage Door Shuts
For any fighter, when the cage door closes before a contest begins, it’s game on. Maycee Barber told Brian Campbell that she takes it up to eleven before her fights.
“I guess you could call it a superpower, but I just feel like I have a thing and it’s just something I possess,” she said. “I know that not a lot of girls possess it, and I love that about myself. I definitely lean into it and I just know that there’s not a single girl that could go into the Octagon with me that will ever have nearly that amount of aggression and dominance that I have.”
Could Title Shot be in the Future for “The Future?”
Saturday night’s UFC Seattle co-main event is one dripping with intrigue and the stakes are high. The victor of this contest will find herself within shouting distance of a UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship berth as early as this Monday morning.
Maycee Barber believes she’s earned a seat at the captain’s table if she wins this coming weekend.
“I think the only thing that’s stopping me is if Dana decides that he just doesn’t want to see me have a belt,” she said of her prospects at attempting to win the championship. Barber’s response prompted a chuckle from Brian Campbell. “That’s the only thing, if they’re like, ‘Nah, we just don’t want her to have it.’ There’s no one else or nothing else in my way.”
Final Thoughts
Although it’ll only be a three-round contest between Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso, expect both of these contestants to treat the co-main event of UFC Seattle as though it were a five-round title fight. Maycee Barber is hungry for vengeance on Saturday night.
This co-main event has Fight of the Night potential written all over it. Get your popcorn ready.
