Maycee Barber vs. Montana De La Rosa is set to go down at UFC Vegas 52 in an exciting women’s Flyweight matchup on Saturday, 23rd of April.
Both of the prospects are young and have a great future ahead in this promotion as they are on the verge of breaking into the Top 10 UFC flyweight contenders division.
Barber is fresh coming off a decision win over Miranda Maverick in July. Although she had a fantastic start with three finishes, she also suffered her first two career losses with defeats against Roxanne Modafferi and Alexa Grasso.
On the other hand, De La Rosa earned her first victory with a stoppage win against Ariane Lipski in June. Like her opponent, Montana also started her UFC career with three consecutive finishes. She is on a two-fight win run in her last five fights.
Tale of the Tape
| Maycee Barber | Montana De la Rosa | |
| 23 | Age | 27 |
| 5’5 | Height | 5’7 |
| 125 lbs | Weight | 125 lbs |
| 65 inches | Reach | 68 inches |
| 9-2 | Record | 12-6 |
Fight Breakdown
Maycee Barber started her UFC career with 4-straight wins, all of which came by stoppages. She has some excellent grappling skills, and also got firm power in her hands.
She is a well-rounded fighter, with good cardio and conditioning too. But her period of inactivity in the ring might be the only downside for her entering this bout.
Maycee blew out her knee during her fight against Roxanne Modafferi, a fight in which she was a huge betting favorite. After a year of layoff, she came back to fight Alexa Grasso, a fight that resulted in her loss via unanimous decision. She got into her winning ways by defeating Miranda Maverick in a controversial decision win.
Montana De la Rosa is a fighter who has grown very much after her debut. Her striking has improved decently, and her wrestling might give her a slight edge over Barber. She likes to engage with her wrestling on the mat and she has been quite successful following that strategy.
De la Rosa is not much of a power threat, even though her submission skill is a force to be reckoned with inside the cage. She will also have the height and reach advantage over Barber, but she will need to adjust in between rounds to catch up with Barber’s striking. The key to victory for De la Rosa will be her ground control and submission attempts alone if implemented successfully.
Who will be the winner?
Barber is the physically stronger fighter here. Also, her superior offensive striking will give her a massive power edge. Given the time she took off from the competition, her volume striking was lacking in her last fight. It looked like she couldn’t catch up with the pace and adversity she was facing.
But again she is a lady who can knock out opponents if she is accurate enough. That is how this fight might play out. I believe Barber can put De la Rosa in significant damage while on their feet. Maycee will be able to get her volume going in either a knockout or decision win.
De La Rosa will enjoy the size and reach advantage in this fight with a height of 5”7, compared to Barber who is 5”5. Barber has finished 78% of her victories, while De La Rosa has a 75% finishing rate.
As mentioned earlier, the only way to win for De la Rosa is to solely rely on her grappling skills. I think she will find a way to get on the mat to hunt for submission in the hope to finish off Barber.
Maycee Barber’s dominant grappling game will be tested against De La Rosa’s superior submission threat. This fight could end up being a brawl on the feet. But I think Barber out strikes De la Rosa to get a stoppage or decision win over her.
Prediction: Barber via stoppage/decision
