Maycee Barber still has her eyes fixed on becoming the youngest UFC world champion of all time.
Tonight at UFC 258, Maycee Barber will be competing for the first time in over a year when she takes on Alexa Grasso in the evening’s co-main event. Even with all the buzz that has surrounded her since being granted a contract on season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, this will undoubtedly be her highest-profile bout to date.
With Barber set to face one of her biggest challenges in her career tonight in Alexa Grasso, she continues to find motivation in her goal to break Jon Jones’s record as the youngest UFC champion in history. And neither her setback last year against Roxane Modafferi nor her devastating knee injury that left her sidelined for 2020 has changed her clock.
“The countdown’s still going,” Barber said of her goal at a UFC 258 media scrum. “I did get an iPhone, though, so now it’s a little bit different because you can’t have the little thing on your screen. But it’s still there. And January 18 of 2022, that’s the end date for me to be 23 years and 8 months. So I turn 23 in May, and we’re still going towards that title.”
Does Maycee Barber Have Any Regrets About Making Goals Public?
After Maycee Barber lost to Modafferi last year, she was hit with an avalanche of ridicule from fans due to her confidence that many interpret as cockiness. Barber stated that she welcomes all the comments from fans, even the hate, because it demonstrates that they care enough about her to have an opinion. And she has absolutely no regrets about making her goal public because it could serve as an inspiration for others and also allow fans to be a part of her journey.
“No, if you keep your goals and your ambitions hidden, it just means you’re not confident in them,” Barber said. “And I’m confident in my goals, and my ambitions, and my dreams. And I’m always gonna speak it out.
“…And I want people to be able to follow that dream,” Barber continued. “That gives other people something to follow. And I want that. I don’t want to just keep things to myself. Because if I keep it to myself, not everybody’s gonna benefit from it. So I want everybody to benefit from the story, from the challenge, to be able to follow it. It’s almost like they’re able to be a part of it, you know?”
Maycee Barber also disclosed a very interesting tidbit in this scrum, which is that if she gets past Alexa Grasso tonight, she could be paired with Joanne Calderwood in a title-eliminator fight. This would set Barber right on course to reach her goal before her deadline of January 18, 2022. But there is somebody by the name of Alexa Grasso who at this very moment is on her way to the UFC APEX to spoil Barber’s plans.
What do you think Maycee Barber’s chances are of breaking Jon Jones’s record as the youngest champion in UFC history?
