Maycee Barber has undergone some changes ahead of her octagon return.
Barber (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has been sidelined since her Jan. 18 decision loss to Roxanne Modafferi due to a torn ACL, and has moved to Chicago in preparation for her comeback fight against Alexa Grasso at UFC 258.
Barber is currently training under the tutelage of wrestling coach Israel Martinez and striking coach Mike Valle in “The Windy City,” where the likes of ranked contenders Yair Rodriguez, Belal Muhammad and Julianna Pena also train.
“I’ve been training with Izzy since I was 15 or 16 down in Albuquerque,” Barber told MMA Junkie. “And now I’ve known that’s he’s been up here, and I’ve trained back and forth with him. But then meeting coach Mike happened just through watching some fights and figuring out what gyms are around in the area, even though Milwaukee is not that far from Chicago.
“So (I) just researched and finally connected with him and he’s a really great coach, and I feel like him and Izzy really work well together and it’s just gonna be really good for this camp and my career.”
Barber faces Mexico’s Grasso (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who had a successful 125-pound debut in August, when she defeated Ji Yeon Kim via unanimous decision.
Prior to her first career loss to Modafferi, Barber had a lot of momentum having scored stoppage wins in her first three UFC fights, and hopes to pick up where she left off in her return against an established name like Grasso.
“She’s got a big name behind her so I think it’ll be a good fight and it’s a different style from what I’ve already fought,” Barber said. “She’s tough, and I’m really excited to have this fight, especially as a comeback. Even her moving up from 115 to 125, that’s something similar to what I did, so I feel like we match up well, and I’m super excited for this fight.”
She continued, “At this point in time, we’re looking at different routes to take, and I feel like with my evolvement as an athlete and fighter, I feel like we could win and beat her everywhere. So where we choose to do that, is gonna come throughout the camp and throughout fight week and all the way up to the fight. But I truly believe that I’ve evolved a ton, and I’ve learned and I’ve grown a lot since the injury, and I feel like it helped me mature a lot so I feel like I could take this fight anywhere and win.”
After training camp change, Maycee Barber says she’s ‘evolved a ton’ ahead of return at UFC 258
