Maycee Barber is determined to make UFC history, so it’s perhaps appropriate that her debut appearance in the UFC’s octagon came at an historic UFC event.
Barber (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) announced herself as a dangerous new arrival in the UFC’s women’s flyweight division when she stepped into the octagon in Denver and produced a tough, gritty performance to finish hard-nosed fellow newcomer Hannah Cifers as part of the UFC’s 25th anniversary event on Nov. 10, 2018.
Colorado native Barber looked strong and confident in the stand-up as she looked to use her advantages on the feet against Cifers, who closed the distance and initiated the clinch in a bid to drag the youngster into the trenches. Barber more than held her own in the clinch, however, as she connected with knees to the body and tied up Cifers against the fence.
After finding herself on the receiving end of Barber’s strikes early in Round 2, Cifers looked to take the fight to the ground, but Barber quickly gained top position and proceeded to rain down powerful strikes on a bloodied-up Cifers until referee Kevin MacDonald stepped in to stop the fight.
It was an impressive, dominant display from the young debutant and gave us our first glimpse of not just her fighting ability, but her temperament as she adapted to the big stage with apparent ease.
It led current UFC lightweight contender and UFC analyst Paul Felder to heap praise on Barber’s performance, saying: “She’s putting ground and pound together like she’s been doing this for 30 years.”
Barber went on to add two more TKO finishes to her resumé, with stoppages of JJ Aldrich and Gillian Robertson completing a hat trick of wins heading into UFC 246, where she will face off against “The Happy Warrior” Roxanne Modafferi on Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It will stream live on pay-per-view after prelims air on ESPN.
Relive Maycee Barber’s ground-and-pound finish of Hannah Cifers from UFC Fight Night 139 in the video above.
