UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman - Predictions and Picks

#5 Maycee Barber vs. Gillian Robertson

Maycee Barber is one of the UFC's hottest prospects right now

Few fighters on the UFC roster have garnered quite as much hype as Barber in recent months. ‘The Future’ burst onto the scene via Dana White’s Contender Series last year and was impressive in stopping Hannah Cifers last November. Just 20 at that point, Barber immediately began to talk about becoming the UFC’s youngest ever champion, and to be fair, it did look like she had a lot of potential.

Her fight with JJ Aldrich in March, however, slowed down her hype train dramatically. Barber won by second-round TKO, but the first round went terribly for her as Aldrich simply used a cleaner boxing attack to outstrike her, even putting her on the mat at one point. In the end, Barber’s aggression pulled her through, but she won’t be able to rely on that and her athletic ability to win her all of her fights.

Robertson has flown under the radar somewhat since emerging in the UFC in 2017 via the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter, but the Canadian has done well for herself; she’s 4-1 and has finished all of her wins thus far, most recently taking out Sarah Frota in July.

A grappler by trade, Robertson is extremely dangerous on the ground and in particular, she’s able to do serious damage from top position before looking for a submission. She brutalized Molly McCann in their fight, for instance, and also smashed Frota with elbows en route to picking up that win. On the feet, however, she’s somewhat stiff and robotic, meaning this is a very different match for Barber than the boxing-oriented Aldrich was.

For me, Barber is the harder hitter and the better athlete in this one. If she can keep Robertson away from her – or do damage if the Canadian is able to make it to the clinch – then for me this is a winnable fight. I’m sure Barber’s camp will have been working on her technical striking since that Aldrich fight and if that’s the case then I think she can pick Robertson apart.

If Robertson can get her down early on, however, she could be in some trouble. Barber’s not a bad grappler at all but I’d worry about her on her back with Robertson on top. With that said, I just don’t think the UFC would look to match ‘The Future’ too badly at this point – she’s too marketable to lose all of her shine at this stage – and so I think this will be a good chance for her to work an improved stand-up game.

The Pick: Barber via third-round TKO