Saturday, February 13th, 22-year-old Maycee “The Future” Barber will meet Mexico’s Alexa Grasso at UFC 258. #10 ranked Maycee Barber put herself on the MMA map by winning all four of her bouts under LFA before she went on to stop Jamie Colleen (5-3 3KO) on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Since earning her UFC contract, Barber (8-1 5KO) has won three of her four UFC bouts; her lone defeat coming from Roxanne Modafferi, a fight in which she suffered a torn ACL.
Barber’s opponent – Alexa Grasso (12-3 4KO) – is easily one of the most underrated strikers in the UFC and comes off a clinical striking performance over Ji Yeon Kim (9-3 2KO).
Grasso has spent most of her UFC career fighting in the Strawweight (115lbs.) division but looks more comfortable at Flyweight (125lbs.) where this bout will take place.
Barber, an obvious stand-out talent, has shown that she is one of the more versatile fighters in the division. She mixes volume striking, excellent takedowns, an intimidating top game, and a blue-collar toughness to put together nearly flawless performances.
Grasso possesses a level of boxing that separates herself from the rest of the division. She uses her footwork to keep her opponents off-balanced and lands swift and accurate strikes from whatever range she feels comfortable.
From a black & white perspective, this is a grappler vs striker match-up, however, both girls are versatile and talented enough to guarantee a competitive bout that will likely include exciting moments in both the striking and grappling.
It will serve Barber best to take Grasso down as soon as possible and impose her will. Grasso will need to use her footwork and try to pick Barber apart with her dangerous hands.