Maycee Barber remains confident as ever after her first loss, and she expects to build on it with a win at UFC 258.
Maycee Barber came into 2020 as one of the brightest prospects in the sport. But after she lost for the first time two weeks into the year, many people moved on to the next shiny name, casting Barber aside as another hype train derailed. But then there are people who still believe Barber is every bit the prospect she was thought to be at the start of 2020. At the top of that list is Maycee Barber herself.
Maycee Barber’s confidence has always been one of her strongest attributes, and one of the reasons she will have it by her side when she takes on Alexa Grasso at UFC 258 is because of her recent preparation with wrestling coach Israel Martinez and her new striking coach, Mike Valle.
“I’ve been training with I since I was 15 or 16 down in Albuquerque,” Barber told MMA Junkie. “And now I’ve known that’s he’s been up here, and I’ve trained back and forth with him. But then meeting coach Mike happened just through watching some fights and figuring out what gyms are around in the area, even though Milwaukee is not that far from Chicago.
“So (I) just researched and finally connected with him and he’s a really great coach, and I feel like him and Izzy really work well together and it’s just gonna be really good for this camp and my career.”
When the final product is put before a global audience at UFC 258, Maycee Barber expects to have a strong game plan in her back pocket and lean on all she has learned in her time away from competition and, of course, her ever steady confidence.
“At this point in time, we’re looking at different routes to take, and I feel like with my evolvement as an athlete and fighter, I feel like we could win and beat her everywhere,” Barber said of her upcoming bout against Alexa Grasso. “So where we choose to do that, is gonna come throughout the camp and throughout fight week and all the way up to the fight. But I truly believe that I’ve evolved a ton, and I’ve learned and I’ve grown a lot since the injury, and I feel like it helped me mature a lot so I feel like I could take this fight anywhere and win.”
What do you expect to see from Maycee Barber when she faces Alexa Grasso at UFC 258?
