Undefeated UFC strawweight Maycee Barber addresses some comparisons with former women’s MMA superstar Ronda Rousey.
20-year-old strawweight Maycee Barber was able to keep her professional record unblemished on Saturday night with a come-from-behind win over J.J. Aldrich. Now on her third straight TKO win, “The Future” is starting to make herself known to the MMA public.
So much so that she had apparently been getting comparisons with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and company superstar Ronda Rousey. Barber, however, is looking to pave her own path to greatness, as she separates herself from such associations.
“I’m a completely different person than Ronda, and that’s no disrespect to her,” Barber told the media during a post-fight scrum. “She’s a phenomenal athlete, phenomenal fighter, she had an amazing career. But I feel like I want to take my career a little bit different, and if I ever do get a loss – which I’mma continue to fight so that I never get one – I hope that I can come back a little bit differently than she did.
“But we’ll see. I’m hoping to not take that loss.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Barber is planning to open the doors for younger female fighters, much like how Rousey did for women’s MMA as a whole.
“I should definitely bring a lot of attention to the sport, especially as a young athlete,” she said. “I feel like I do that a little more as a young female athlete than just a female athlete. I’m kind of like the face for all of us up-and-coming fighters who are well-rounded, who are tough.
“We work hard and we’re coming to finish again. We’re the whole new breed of athletes who are coming.”
As for her next fight plans, Barber is looking at International Fight Week in July. Nonetheless, she is confident about her ability to sell any card she would be part of.
“I feel like I’mma start making the card big, so doesn’t matter what card you put me on, it’s gonna be a big card.”
After UFC Nashville, Barber improves to a record of 7-0 (with 6 wins by stoppage).