Viva La Mexico: Grasso Defeats Barber in Split Decision

(Getty Images / Jeff Bottari)

Young UFC Flyweight star Maycee “The Future” Barber suffered her second career loss against a new contender, Alexa Grasso, last Saturday. Despite her underdog status, Grasso remained calm and calculated against Barber’s aggressive attacks, pulling through three rounds and coming out on top.

In a post-match interview, Grasso explains, “it was more strategy, take things more calm, put her on the fence and do my wrestling and jiu-jitsu.” As a previous boxer, she expressed excitement in proving how far her grappling training has progressed and hopes that this will be the first of many successful matches as a Flyweight.

Unfortunately, when one star rises another falls, but this is not the end for Maycee Barber. Coming back after her first-ever defeat against Roxanne Modafferi and a year-long recovery from a knee injury, Barber remains optimistic.

When discussing the match in an online interview with BJPenn.com, Barber explains all of the things that went wrong, ”being out for so long my timing was off, my reach was off.” She goes on to explain that the fight didn’t feel right, but she picked up momentum towards the end. As a viewer, it was evident that Barber came out strong in the last round, however, it was too little too late to pull the win against Grasso’s skillful strategy.

As a contender at the prime age of 22, Barber has high hopes of becoming the youngest ever to achieve the UFC world champion title, but she has a long way to go. This fight will prove as more fuel to her fire and offer vital feedback in making her a powerful contender.

As for Alexa Grasso, the world of UFC is watching. Finally breaking her repeated win-loss streak, Grasso is ready to carry this momentum into her next fight. “I just want to fight and keep climbing,” she says.