Maycee Barber beat Amanda Ribas via second-round TKO at UFC Jacksonville. The flyweight stars faced each other in the co-main event of the evening. #9 ranked Ribas and #11 ranked Barber were both looking to climb the rankings with a win.
Barber came into the fight with the momentum of a four-fight win streak. ‘The Future’ had only lost to current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso in her last five outings.
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29-year-old Amanda Ribas has been finding it difficult to maintain consistency. The Brazilian was 3-2 in her last five. 6-2 in the UFC, Ribas came to Jacksonville hoping to put together a winning run and defend her ranking.
Amanda Ribas vs. Maycee Barber at UFC Jacksonville was one of the most brutal matches in women’s MMA. Barber put the foot down on the gas from the very first round. She had Ribas bloodied by the end of the first round.
Ribas came back stronger in the second, landing heavily on Barber and bloodying her up in return. However, a perfect head kick from Barber put the Brazilian on the back foot. The rest was a formality as Ribas went to the ground as Barber pushed on and secured the TKO finish.
Fans react to Barber vs. Ribas at UFC Jacksonville
The highly competitive back and forth between the two stars inspired quite a few reactions from Twitter. One fan thought that was a top 5 fight of all time in women’s MMA.
Has to be on the Top-5 best performance in Women’s MMA !
— Pritamjit (@pritamjit40) June 24, 2023
A backstage snap from the UFC page showed Barber planning ahead for the TKO.
Manifested that TKO before the fight 👀🔮 @MayceeBarber | #UFCJacksonville pic.twitter.com/BtRsfCtfRL
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2023
Jeeeeeeez that head kick was like a baseball bat
— MegaDrive (@MegaDriv3) June 24, 2023
Lowkey women's flyweight depth up there now with Men's bantamweight.
— Pythagoras In Boots ⚽️ (@pythaginboots) June 24, 2023
Easy fight of the night 🔥🔥🔥 Maycee was the truth tonight!! Wow!!
— Sant Scott (@scott_sant) June 24, 2023
One fan saw Barber capturing UFC gold one day.
@MayceeBarber Getting that strap one day. I’m calling it now.
— Alex Beau (@alexbeau312) June 24, 2023
If this doesn’t win fight of the night, I don’t know what other fight will on this card🤌🏼🤔
— Brenda V Sorto (@Cigana3) June 24, 2023
Stars like Barber and Grasso making a name in the flyweight division might be the beginning of a change in the guard. Just a few months ago, Grasso shocked the world when she submitted the dominant Valentina Shevchenko after an impressive performance. If Barber strings together more performances like this one, it won’t be long before we see her in a title fight.
What are your thoughts on the UFC Jacksonville co-main event? What do you think is next for these flyweight stars? Let us know in the comments below.
