Maycee Barber welcomes ‘Great matchup’ against Rose Namajunas in UFC return: ‘I’d be fighting backwards’
Maycee Barber has responded to the callout from former champion Rose Namajunas following ‘Thug’ beating Amanda Ribas in the main event of UFC Vegas 89.
Namajunas was set for her second fight at flyweight after losing a decision to Manon Fiorot back in September. Namajunas ended up winning a decision and after the win, she called for a bout with Barber.
After the callout, Maycee Barber responded to Rose Namaunas, and ‘The Future’ says it would be a good stylistic matchup for her, but the only downside is her fighting down in the rankings.
“Yeah, I think that that’s a great matchup for me. The only downside is I’d be fighting backwards” Barber said to James Lynch of SportsKeeda (via MMANews). “For the first time, I can actually say that me fighting Rose Namajunas would be fighting backwards in the division, even though a win over her is like, a win over a former champion, a win over someone who has been in such a great position for so long.
“It would be a great win for me. So that’s something I have been thinking about. I would like to fight her, for sure,” Barber continued. “We do have some history. I used to train with her out here in Denver. Then I fought Audrey Perkins, (who) was a former teammate of hers. I fought JJ Aldrich and I remember Rose and Pat (Barry) being in the corner or the crowd. Rose, it just broke her when I beat JJ. So there is some bitterness there. She wants to be the one to beat me.”
Currently, Barber is ranked fourth at flyweight while Namajunas is ranked sixth. But, it would be a chance for Barber to beat a former champion and future Hall of Famer in Namajunas to cement herself as the next flyweight title contender.
Maycee Barber entered the hospital after Her UFC 299 win
Maycee Barber is coming off a decision win over Katlyn Cerminara back at UFC 299 to extend her win streak to six.
However, following the win, Barber was in the hospital for nine days as she was being treated for an infection, which she says they thought were a mix of different things from Strep A to Staph. However, the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her, but Barber eventually got healthy and is now out of hospital and back training.
Barber is currently 14-2 as a pro and on a six-fight winning streak. Before the win over Cerminara, she defeated Amanda Ribas by TKO. In her career, she holds notable wins over Miranda Maverick, Andrea Lee, and Jessica Eye among others.
Who wins in a future title-eliminator: Maycee Barber or Rose Namajunas?
