5 UFC fighters poised to break out as stars in 2020

#3 Maycee Barber

Maycee Barber is aiming to become the UFC's youngest ever champion

Nicknamed ‘The Future’ from the moment she arrived in the UFC in November 2018, Maycee Barber has continually stated that her goal is to become the youngest champion in UFC history. At just 21 years and 7 months old, she’s got just over two years left to reach that goal, and at 3-0 in the UFC and 8-0 overall, she’s well on her way to doing so.

A ruthless fighter, Barber has never gone the distance in her professional MMA career, but while her striking power and finishing instincts are clearly big strengths for her, perhaps the most impressive thing about ‘The Future’ thus far into her UFC career has been the speed that she’s improved and closed holes in her game.

Her fight in March against JJ Aldrich saw her struggle greatly with the cleaner strikes of her opponent; Aldrich was landing her jab at will and it was only Barber’s huge punching power that allowed her to pick up a come-from-behind win. By the time she faced Gillian Robertson in October though, her striking had improved to the point that she was able to piece the Canadian up en route to a first round TKO.

Barber has continually called out a high-profile foe in Paige VanZant, but while it appears that a fight between the two is unlikely, it feels like ‘The Future’ will be able to become a star in her own right in 2020 regardless. Could she beat Valentina Shevchenko right now? Definitely not, but in the future – no pun intended – you never know.