Maycee Barber

Maycee Kaye Barber, known as "The Future," is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's flyweight division of the UFC.

Raised in a martial arts family in Fort Collins, Colorado, Barber began training in karate at age three and was teaching classes at her family's academy while still a teenager. She competed as an amateur before turning professional in MMA at eighteen, opening her career with a first-round submission win. She signed with the UFC soon after, making her debut with a TKO of Hannah Cifers. She has trained under a range of respected coaches, including Greg Jackson and Duane Ludwig, with her father, Bucky Barber, serving as a longtime coach and manager, and later relocated to Sacramento, California, to train with the Team Alpha Male fight team.

Barber holds a second-degree black belt in karate and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu earned under Rener and Ryron Gracie, giving her a technical grappling foundation to complement her striking pedigree.

Stylistically, Barber fights behind a karate-influenced, forward-pressing striking game built on sharp counters, unorthodox angles, and heavy hands, showing a consistent ability to close the show once she hurts an opponent. That striking is backed by a credible submission game, making her a threat to finish fights standing or on the ground.

Her UFC resume includes notable victories over Montana De La Rosa, Jessica Eye, and Amanda Ribas, the last of which earned her a Performance of the Night bonus. She has also had to rebuild more than once, working back into contention after a serious knee injury kept her out of competition for roughly a year.

Having turned pro and reached the UFC while still a teenager, Barber has spent essentially her entire adult life competing at the sport's highest level, and is regarded as one of the flyweight division's most dangerous finishers. Equal parts prodigy and survivor, she has built her identity on precocious skill paired with a demonstrated willingness to fight back from adversity, cementing her standing as one of the more compelling stars in women's flyweight history.