Maycee Kaye Barber (born May 18, 1998) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She currently competes in the women's

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of May 13, 2025, she is #5 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of June 3, 2025, she is #15 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background

Barber was born in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...

. She began pursuing mixed martial arts (MMA) at an early age and set her eyes on becoming a professional fighter. In an interview with Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, Barber's father, Bucky Barber, said: "At that point, it was, 'OK, the better we make her as a fighter, the less damage she's going to take.' So we started to travel, and we took her literally all over the United States. " Barber has a younger brother, Wyatt, who also is a mixed martial artist signed to

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

Mixed martial arts career

Legacy Fighting Alliance

Barber made her professional debut against Itzel Esquivel at LFA 14 on June 23, 2017. She won the fight by a first-round armbar submission. Barber was booked to face

Mallory Martin Mallory Martin (born January 29, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division. Martin also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Invicta Fighting Championships (Invicta). Mixed martial art ...

at LFA 22 on September 8, 2017. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Barber faced Kaila Thompson at LFA 33 on February 18, 2018. She won the fight by a first-round submission. Barber faced Audrey Perkins at LFA 39 on May 4, 2018, in her final fight with the promotion. She won the fight by a second-round technical knockout, the first knockout victory of her professional career. Mayce Barber faced Jamie Colleen at Dana White's Contender Series 13 on July 17, 2018. She received a

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

contract after earning a stoppage in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Barber made her UFC debut on November 10, 2018 on UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez against

Hannah Cifers Hannah Cifers (born June 26, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She formerly fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Cifers made her profess ...

. She won the fight via TKO in round two. Barber faced

JJ Aldrich JJ Aldrich (born September 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has fought for Invicta FC. As of June 17, 2025, she is #15 in the ...

at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis on March 23, 2019. Barber won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Barber faced

Gillian Robertson Gillian Elizabeth Robertson (born May 17, 1995) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 6, 2025, she is #9 in the UFC wome ...

on October 18, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 6 ''UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2019 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A light ...

. She won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Barber faced

Roxanne Modafferi Roxanne Vincenta Modafferi (born September 24, 1982) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who most recently fought for the UFC. Though she last fought in the flyweight division, she has fought in multiple weight classes in her career. She ...

on January 18, 2020 at

UFC 246 ''UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2020, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. In an upset, she lost the one-sided fight by unanimous decision. After a year of hiatus recovering from a knee injury, Barber faced

Alexa Grasso Karen Alexa Grasso Montes (born August 9, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former UFC Women's Flyweight Champion. Gr ...

on February 13, 2021 at

UFC 258 ''UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 13, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Barber faced

Miranda Maverick Miranda Rachelle Maverick (born July 1, 1997) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She competed in Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Invicta Figh ...

on July 24, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. She won the fight via controversial split decision. 22 out of 22 media outlets scored the bout as a win for Maverick. Barber was expected to face

Montana De La Rosa Montana De La Rosa (née Stewart) (born February 14, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). She competed in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background De La Rosa was born in Helena, Montana, United S ...

on December 11, 2021 at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. However, De La Rosa pulled out of the fight in early October citing injury and she was replaced by

Erin Blanchfield Erin Blanchfield (born May 4, 1999) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is a former Eddie Bravo Invitational champion. As of May 13, 2025, she ...

. In turn, Barber withdrew in early November due to undisclosed reasons. Barber faced

on April 23, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 205. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Barber, replacing injured Casey O'Neill, faced

Jessica Eye Jessica Jo-Anne Eye (born July 27, 1986) is a former American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). She competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

on July 2, 2022, at UFC 276. She won the bout via unanimous decision. The bout also marked the last of her prevailing contract, and she re-signed with the UFC later in the year. Barber faced Andrea Lee on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43. She won the bout via split decision. Barber faced

Amanda Ribas Amanda Limborco Alcântara Ribas (born August 26, 1993) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Strawweight and Flyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 11, 2025, ...

on June 24, 2023 at UFC on ABC 5. She won the bout in the second round, defeating Ribas via elbows and punches on the ground. The win earned Barber her first '' Performance of the Night'' award. Barber faced Katlyn Cerminara on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299. She won the bout by unanimous decision. Barber was scheduled to face

Rose Namajunas Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight ...

on July 13, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 59. However, Barber withdrew from the bout, due to what was later revealed to be ongoing health problems, and was replaced by Tracy Cortez. Barber was scheduled to face

in the main event on May 31, 2025 at

UFC on ESPN 68 ''UFC on ESPN: Gamrot vs. Klein'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 68'' and ''UFC Vegas 107'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 31, 2025, at the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, part ...

. At the weigh-ins, Barber weighed in at 126.5 pounds, half a pound over the women's flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout was set to be at catchweight and Barber was to be fined 20 percent of her purse which was to go to Blanchfield. However, minutes before the walkouts were to take place, Barber had to withdraw due to a medical issue involving a seizure and the bout was cancelled.

Personal life

In mid-2024 shortly after UFC 299, Barber had a near-death experience involving a combination of pneumonia, strep throat, and a staph infection which led her to be hospitalized for nine days.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) **Second most knockouts in UFC Women's Flyweight division history (3) **Tied (

) for third most wins in UFC Women's Flyweight division history (8) **Tied (

) for the fourth longest win streak in UFC Women's Flyweight division history (6) **UFC.com Awards ***2018: Ranked #4 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Maycee 1998 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Colorado Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters American female karateka American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Sportspeople from Greeley, Colorado 21st-century American sportswomen