Monster Energy congratulates Maycee “The Future” Barber on her victory over Miranda Maverick at UFC Vegas 32 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday night. In the Main Card fight in the Women’s Flyweight division, the 23-year-old from Greeley, Colorado, went the distance against her opponent to earn a split decision victory (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) after Round 3.
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw took place on Saturday night with limited fan attendance at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. Broadcast live on ESPN, UFC Vegas 32 marked the first spectator event at the 120,000-square-foot Apex facility since the start of the pandemic more than one year ago.
Monster Energy’s Barber (9-2) came into the fight as the underdog after suffering two consecutive losses. In February, the karate and jiu jitsu expert who trains out of Roufusport MMA in Milwaukee suffered a decision loss against Alexa Grasso at UFC 258. Before the pandemic, she lost by decision to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in January 2020.
Barber faced a tough opponent in Miranda Maverick (11-3). Since making her UFC debut in late 2020, the 24-year-old from Norfolk, Virginia, had claimed two back-to-back victories in the UFC. Her overall streak entailed five consecutive wins as a pro, and she stepped into the Octagon as the betting odds favorite on Saturday night.
A tight back-and-forth battle unfolded in the first round with Maverick bringing the pressure and Barber evading body kicks and jabs. But with Maverick landing the more significant punches, Barber had to step up her game in Round 2. That’s when “Future” started landing combinations and pinned her opponent to the ground before the end of the second round.
It all came down to the third and final round, as Barber stepped up her offense. After landing combination strikes from the distance, she engaged her opponent into a clinch while continuing to connect heavy shots. A key moment unfolded when Barber landed a spinning back elbow that rocked Maverick, right before spending the final moments of Round 3 in a heavy exchange of shots to the finish. When all was said and done, the judges called the close fight a split decision victory for Barber (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).
Asked about her performance during the final round, Barber said: “I tried to do something big. I want to win over the fans, and I wanted to win over the judges. I went for something big, and it paid off. I definitely had a good fight with her!”
Saturday night’s win brings Barber’s professional record to nine wins and two losses. After making her debut on the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) circuit, she broke into the UFC with a knockout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. As a UFC pro, a flurry of back-to-back TKO victories earned the young fighter her nickname, “The Future”.
Now that she’s back in the winner’s circle, what’s next for Barber? In her post-fight press conference, the Monster Energy athlete pointed out No. 8 UFC Flyweight Jessica Eye. “She’s coming off a loss and I’d like to get a win over Jessica Eye and take that No. 8 spot.” Stay tuned!
Maycee “The Future” Barber counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Brandon Moreno, Sean “Suga” O’Malley, Jon “Bones” Jones, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Daniel Cormier, Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley, Dominick “Dominator” Cruz, Yair Rodriquez, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Paulo “The Eraser” Costa, Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic, Michael Chandler, Jessica-Rose Clark, and Valentina Shevchenko.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
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