Maycee Barber believes that the flyweight division may be too challenging for former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, who she perceives as physically smaller and potentially unable to contend with the power of her opponents in the division.
Maycee Barber holds the opinion that the flyweight division might be too much for Rose Namajunas. She extended her current winning streak to five in June, having dominated Amanda Ribas by finishing her off in the second round through strikes. Barber’s victory propelled her to be ranked No. 8 in the UFC’s most challenging division to ascend its ranks. In Barber’s perspective, the said challenge exists because of the depth of fighters in the division.
Further elaborating on this, Barber expressed, “I do agree that the 125 division has gotten huge and it has gotten way deeper”. She added that she had earlier believed the 115 division was densely populated with many girls at 115, however, girls have been moving up to 125 as it is easier for them to meet that weight requirement, and yet they’re still finding success. She also forecasted frequent turnovers of the championship belt, unlike a Ronda Rousey situation where a single champion dominates indefinitely.
Barber also has aspirations to become one of the future champions. Sharing similar ambitions, Rose Namajunas, who is a former two-time strawweight champion, is scheduled to make her flyweight debut against the No. 2 rank holder, Manon Fiorot, at the upcoming UFC Paris event. Winning the match would set Namajunas in line for the flyweight title and make her the second woman to claim the two-division champion status. However, Barber does not seem too confident about this playing out for “Thug Rose”.
Sharing her thoughts on this, Barber said, “I don’t know if she’s going to do well” as she thinks that Rose, from a technical standpoint, is a phenomenal and incredible fighter. However, she feels that Rose might not have the required power and the ‘I’m just going to break you’ mentality that several other fighters possess. Barber had trained with Namajunas during her brief stint training at Roufusport in 2021, which is the basis for her comments. But she also realizes that time has passed since then and Namajunas could prove her wrong. Finally, Barber wrapped up by hinting her uncertainties about that fight, calling it a tough one.