Maycee Barber Dominates at UFC Vegas 52

In the first round, Barber took De La Rosa into a clinch against the cage. As both fighters struggled for an advantageous position, Barber rained punches and elbows from the inside. Before the end of the round, Barber landed a huge right hand behind the ear, wobbling her opponent and taking her to the ground. Barber kept the shots landing until the bell.

In the second round, De La Rosa tried to reverse roles by forcing Barber to the canvas but could not establish a dominant position. Breaking free, Barber proceeded to score significant strikes and chip away at her opponent with more elbows and punches.

The fight continued upright with close-quarters combat, as Barber landed more knees and elbows. Viewed over the entire fight, Barber landed twice as many clinch-position strikes as her opponent. After Barber dominated all the way to the end of Round 3, the judges named her winner by unanimous decision (30-27), marking the first defeat for De La Rosa since 2020.

“It feels amazing! To be honest, I don’t have a specific call out but I know I’m going to be a champion one day. I’m coming for the belt,” said Monster Energy’s Barber upon winning her fight at UFC Vegas 52.

Speaking on her previous knee injury and losses, Barber said: “I definitely got to reignite that light and let it shine tonight. And yeah, the old me never left. It was just a little bit hidden, but it’s definitely starting to shine through a lot more now.”

On the strength of Saturday night’s win, Monster Energy’s Barber is officially back in the winner’s bracket after suffering back-to-back losses to Alexa Grasso and Roxanne Modafferi. Her professional record now consists of ten wins and two losses.

Barber made her MMA debut on the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) circuit. In 2018, she broke into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with a knockout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series and earned the nickname “The Future”.

What’s next for Maycee Barber? Asked about her next fight, Barber said in Las Vegas: “I know I’m gonna be a champion… It’s just taking the time to work through all of the things and learning all the techniques that I need to learn. But at the end of the day, I know that I can fight, and I know that I have the heart of a champion and I’m gonna beat all of these girls.”