Fight Coverage
Maycee Barber Feels Back At Home
After A Rocky Lead-Up To Her Last Fight, Maycee Barber Happy To Be Back In The Swing Of Fight Week; Has Her Mind On Rematch Revenge, Title Contention
Maycee Barber doesn’t mince words when talking about her first fight with Alexa Grasso at UFC 258.
“It was rough. That’s all right — I looked like an idiot — but that’s all right,” Barber told UFC.com, laughing.
While that assessment of her unanimous decision loss is a little harsh, you can’t argue that it motivated “The Future” to change her surroundings in both her training and personal life to get back on track.
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Since that fight in February 2021, Barber hasn’t lost, ripping off seven wins in a row. Grasso did more than well for herself as well, beating Valentina Shevchenko and capturing the flyweight title three fights later.
The journey to the rematch wasn’t that clean for Barber, though. She seemed a surefire bet for the flyweight title picture after she defeated Katlyn Cerminara in March 2024, but that’s when the health struggles started.
Barber was hospitalized for more than a week following the decision win, and while she was booked to fight Rose Namajunas in Denver four months later, she was forced to pull out as the problems persisted.
She was sidelined for the rest of the year, but seemed ready to continue rolling when she signed on to fight Erin Blanchfield in an APEX main event in May 2025; right before making the walk, however, she suffered another medical issue and was unable to fight.
It wasn’t until December 2025 that Barber would make the walk again, fighting Karine Silva at UFC 323. Grappling with emotions, pressure and rust that come with such a tumultuous 21-month absence, Barber was able to secure a cathartic unanimous decision win to stretch her winning streak to eight.
More importantly, Barber was healthy in the days following the bout, so when the phone rang with a chance to take care of some “unfinished business” against Grasso, she was eager to hop back into camp and make the trip to Seattle for UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling other than it feels amazing,” she said. “It’s a lot of work that we put in, and it’s not just me putting in the work. It’s the people around me, it’s the coaches, it’s the teammates, the girls that have to get beatings put on them and put beatings on me. It’s a lot of work and a lot of effort and a lot of emotions.”
RELATED: Rematch Timeline: Grasso vs Barber
Comparing her feelings heading into March 28 with how she felt in December, Barber feels “at home.”
Part of that comfort is also in finding herself as a fighter. When she first fought Grasso, she was at-odds with her instructions. She went into that fight trying to manage distance and maintain a dialed-in technical approach.
When 10 minutes passed with little success — Barber joked that she looked like she was “shadowboxing the air” — she bit down on her mouthpiece, charged forward and earned the third round on all three scorecards.
Each fight since, Barber embraced her nature that showed in that third round, and with the help of striking coach Guilherme Faria, she fine-tuned that aggression into the style she carries today.
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“It’s not easy to find people that understand the fighter I am and the person I am and knows that I’m not a nice fighter,” she said. “I’m a very aggressive fighter, I’m a very push forward, dominate. I’m not a pretty fighter… To be honest, I’m an ugly fighter. I just make things ugly, and it works.
“To find a coach that came make something ugly, make it work, and make it ugly and technical and beautiful at the same time is not an easy task, and you have to find the best coach in the world, and I was able to do that, and I’m blessed to have been able to do that.”
Barber, still just 27 years old, is adamant she doesn’t want to take anything away from Grasso’s victory, but she also feels like it’s right that they are crossing paths again.
Grasso arrives to Seattle hoping to get back on track after losing her belt to Shevchenko in September 2024, losing to Natalia Silva in May 2025 and subsequently taking an extended time away from the Octagon.
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Shevchenko remains atop the throne, maybe more firmly than ever after defeating Zhang Weili in November. Silva is currently stationed as the No. 1 contender, with most presuming she is next in line for a shot at flyweight glory.
Manon Fiorot sits right behind her after bouncing back from her loss to Shevchenko and knocking out Jasmine Jasudavicius in October, and Blanchfield is coming off back-to-back wins over former champ Namajunas and Tracy Cortez.
Despite everything, Barber is right there, and if she handles business in the Pacific Northwest, she is clear-minded about what she wants next.
“I think it’s the perfect picture for me to go and take the belt,” Barber said. “I have painted this picture—not perfectly because I had a little bit of a layoff—but I think the way that it has been laid out and the way the division is (set up) is perfect for me.
"I’m on a seven-fight winning streak, about to be an eight-fight winning streak, and when I get this win over Grasso, a former titleholder, I’ve been saying it this whole time: I will be undeniable, and I will be able to call for my title shot, and it’ll be perfect.”
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on March 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!