Last Saturday 20-year-old strawweight Maycee Barber introduced herself to the UFC in style when she debuted against Hannah Cifers by winning her fight via TKO in Denver, Colorado.
Even though she put on a dominating performance, she struggled at making weight. She needed an extra hour after coming in heavy on her first attempt. She, however, said she is working on the weight issues and promised that it will never be an issue again. But she also put the blame on her nutritionist who she believes led her down the “wrong path” and it caused a bigger issue.
“This cut was definitely the hardest I’ve ever had,” Barber told reporters at the post-fight conference at UFC Fight Night 139. “I pushed through and I was not going to step on the scale without making weight. Getting that extra hour was what I needed. I needed it all the way up until the last second and we did it. I just have to bump up my calories. I was on an extremely low-calorie diet and I never reversed out of it. That’s what we’re doing now. Now that I’ve fought in the UFC, I have however many weeks to get it figured out, and then I’ll have an easier cut next time, and my cuts will never be a problem again.”
Maycee Barber was facing short-notice replacement Hannah Cifers, she was totally dominant throughout the fight. She bloodied Cifers with elbows from the clinch, opening her up with some big cuts and ultimately stopped her in the second round.
“She was definitely tough,” Barber said. “She’s absolutely the strongest person that I’ve ever fought. She’s got a different kind of strong and that was something I noticed a lot before the fight and even during the fight. I wasn’t going to lie to myself. She’s strong. I wasn’t worried about it necessarily in the power of the striking, I was more so worried about it in the clinch and the wrestling. But I knew technique is going to beat power, so we pulled it off.”
Maycee Barber declared her goal to become the youngest UFC champion in history. She also called out Brazilian contender Mackenzie Dern and said she needs to fix her weight before her next fight is booked.
“We’ll figure it out,” Barber said. “I’m going out to the PI beginning of next week and we’re going to get it figured out and take it from there. We’ll see in terms of dates, but I definitely want to fight her. I want to fight on a big card because that’s where I belong.”
Do you think she will become champion at 115-pound weight division?
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