Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso, ranked #3 and #5 in the UFC women’s flyweight division respectively, faced off in the co-main event at UFC Seattle on Saturday.
Grasso was looking to work her way back to the title she once held, which had returned to the hands of Valentina Shevchenko at the end of their trilogy. Barber, long considered a future champ at 125lbs, was looking to finally earn her title opportunity.
The pair went right at it in Saturday’s headliner, exchanging punches early. Barber held center, with Grasso outside, in the opening minute.
The pair felt out their distance for a bit, before the end came in shocking, violent fashion. Grasso connected with a left hand, tagging Barber. As Barber went down, almost doing a splits, she spun around, and Grasso jumped on the neck, locking up the rear-naked choke.
Barber was already done, the finish a knockout not a submission with the ref already on the way in, but Maycee was barely conscious and wound up chasing the leg of the ref, thinking the fight was still on. She then wound up flat on her back, eyes open, blinking but not responsive for a good minute while the cageside physician checked in on her.
To be fair to ref Mike Beltran, he wasn’t slow getting on top of things- the finishing sequence simply happened that fast.
Luckily, Barber was able to sit upright and stand for the result being read, though it was a scary moment given her medical history. As for Grasso, a huge victory for the former champ, who called for the UFC to visit her hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Official Result: Alexa Grasso def. Maycee Barber by knockout, Round 1, 2:42
