Twenty-year-old starlet Maycee ‘The Future’ Barber wants to become the youngest world champion in UFC history, and the American overcame a tough opening round to finish off JJ Aldrich and move one step closer to that dream.
Barber was comprehensively picked apart by Aldrich’s straight punches in the opening round, as she was dropped for the first time in her career.
It forced Barber to adapt her fighting style mid-fight in a bid to avoid being outboxed throughout the three-round contest at UFC Nashville on Saturday night.
And, thanks to some sage advice from her corner, plus her inbuilt will to win, Barber rebounded brilliantly in the second round and, after hurting Aldrich, put together some well-chosen strikes as she hammered her opponent against the cage to claim a hard-earned victory.
After the fight, she admitted that she had plenty to work on, but also stated boldly, “It’s MY time.”
“I don’t quit. I knew it was not the end,” she said.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever been dropped, though. There’s a first time for everything!”
“Well, not getting dropped next time. There’s always room to improve. Off a loss [or] off a win, there’s always something I’m going to go back and watch and go ‘Man, I need to fix that!’.
“I definitely found some things I need to fix, and that’s to move my head and believe in my hands a little more.
I’m going to be a brawler, no matter what.
Before she even earned a contract with the UFC, Barber boldly declared her intention to become the youngest fighter to capture a UFC world title, beating Jon Jones’ record of 23 years, eight months.
She won her place in the UFC with an impressive win on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, then got her UFC career off to a flying start with a second-round TKO stoppage of Hannah Cifers last November.
And, after another exciting performance in her latest fight, people will be paying close attention to Barber as she looks to move her way up the UFC women’s flyweight rankings in pursuit of her dream.
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