Las Vegas, NV — Women’s flyweight standout Maycee Barber felt incredible in her most recent fight, and for good reason.
Barber (13-2) absolutely battered Amanda Ribas at UFC on ABC 5, earning her fifth straight victory. She appears to be well past the early-career stumbles she encountered just a few years ago, and the 25-year old is now firing on all cylinders.
While some would be motivated by proving critics wrong, Barber always knew she had this potential within herself.
“That’s absolutely what it is. I just need to apply myself, I just need to put the pressure on, and when I do, I’m unstoppable,” Barber told Cageside Press during UFC X this past Friday. “And that’s something I really look forward to doing in the next fight as well.”
Going to a decision was another thing Barber has been criticized for, making the TKO finish against Ribas that much sweeter.
“As far as the decisions, the past is in the past, and I’m going to keep growing and moving forward. Everybody always says you’re only as good as your last win or your last loss, and my last win was incredible,” Barber stated. “So I’m going to keep it going and I’m going to get another one.”
Barber was once known for having a countdown clock on her phone as she strove to become the youngest UFC champion in history. That record still sits with Jon Jones, but Barber still believes she has what it takes to become champion.
“I always set huge goals. I set that goal because I always set things that I truly believe, that I can accomplish this. And if I put in the work and I do what I can, that’s how it’s going to be, and everything else is going to fall into place,” said Barber. “I did everything I could on my end to achieve that goal that I had set for myself, and life threw some other things at me. And That’s what God had in mind. For me, it’s not a matter of if I’m going to be champion, it’s a matter of when, and I know I’m going to be champion. So I’m going to put in the work, and I’m going to do it.”
There has been a budding rivalry between Mayce Barber and Erin Blanchfield in recent months— not surprising given they are two of the 125lb division’s bright young stars. Both are sitting on an impressive win streaks, and it’s almost a given that they’ll cross paths some day.
“I think that she’s trying to reach her goals, I’m trying to reach mine. I think that at some point we’ll eventually meet up, but at the same time, we’ll see how it goes,” Barber said of the rivalry, which at times has become a bit of a war of words. “I wouldn’t say there’s animosity, I think that she thinks that she’s better than me, and she wants what I have. I have a lot of hype behind me. Of course she has a lot of hype behind her, she had a great win against Jessica Andrade, she has great wins against Miranda Maverick and JJ Aldrich, she’s done really well for herself. It’ll be interesting to see how her next fight goes, but honestly, I’m just doing me. I’m focused on me, and when it comes time, I’ll wreck her too.”
Watch our full interview with UFC women’s flyweight Maycee Barber above.
