Maycee Barber ‘not shocked’ Alexa Grasso beat ‘exposed’ Valentina Shevchenko

Maycee Barber is happy to see a new women’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight champion.

Earlier this month at UFC 285, one of the all-time greats, Jon Jones, successfully returned from a three-year hiatus, while another, Valentina Shevchenko, fell from her dominant perch. Indeed, the 125-pound title changed hands in UFC 285’s co-main event when the long-time champion was bested for the first time in the division against Mexico’s Alexa Grasso (watch highlights).

Grasso, 29, won four straight bouts to earn her crack at UFC gold. Along the way, she picked up a unanimous decision win over the youthful Barber, who wasn’t surprised to see her old foe make history.

“That was not a shock to me,” Barber said of Grasso at UFC San Antonio media day (h/t MMA Junkie). “She’s a phenomenal fighter and I feel like Valentina started to get exposed a little bit when she fought [Taila] Santos. Everybody is beatable. So, it was really cool to see a whole new champion in the division. I think it gives it a lot more excitement in the division.

“Valentina was such a dominant champion, so obviously, I’m sure we’re expecting a rematch at some point between them, and then at some point, I want my shot back against Alexa because I want to win that back,” she concluded. “Whether she’s the champ or not, I want that fight back.”

Barber has regained some momentum since losing to Grasso in Feb. 2021. “The Future” is riding a three-fight win streak — most recently retiring Jessica Eye via unanimous decision in July 2022 — heading into UFC San Antonio this weekend (Sat., March 25, 2023) against Andrea “KGB” Lee.

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