The Colorado fighter’s hopes of putting herself into the conversation for a shot at the UFC flyweight belt went up in smoke quickly in the first round of her rematch against Alexa Grasso on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena.

About 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the fight, Grasso drilled Barber in the head with a left hook, knocking her out. As Barber fell to the canvas, Grasso before the fight was quickly called.

OH MY GOODNESS

ALEXA GRASSO FINISHES MAYCEE BARBER!!

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)

“I am OK,” Barber said in a video she posted “I am very blessed to live the life that I do. As tough as it is, going out there and being able to do that, what I did (Saturday) night, was still one of the greatest nights of my life, despite (how it ended).

“… I will be back. I’m going to heal up, and put in the work, and get back out there.”

After the fight was called, Barber lay on the canvas for a few minutes, looking around and breathing heavily, while UFC trainers evaluated her. Grasso knelt off to the side, praying. Barber eventually stood and moved to the center of the octagon for Grasso to raise her hand.

The dramatic finish snapped Barber’s seven-bout win streak that stretched back to a loss to Grasso at UFC 258 in 2021. Barber had recently overcome medical issues over the last two years, including a nine-day hospital stay in 2024 and what she described as a “pseudo-seizure” that forced her to withdraw shortly before a fight against Erin Blanchfield last summer.

Barber returned to the octagon in December, beating Karine Silva at UFC 323 by unanimous decision. The Greeley native and Denver resident entered Seattle as the No. 5 fighter in the flyweight contender rankings, and Grasso was No. 3.

On Sunday, with her lip cut up and puffy, Barber thanked Grasso for the rematch.

“I wanted to go out there and get my opportunity to get my rematch, and dominate, and get that win back,” Barber said. “And unfortunately, it was not my night. I got caught, and Alexa did an amazing thing. She’s a phenomenal fighter.

“I don’t really remember a whole lot. All I know is every time I go on social media, I look like I’m dead. And that’s not a very fun thing to see.”

Other Colorado fighters

Where other UFC fighters from The Centennial State currently stand in their

Justin Gaethje, lightweight interim champion — Coming off an upset of Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January to claim the interim belt, Gaethje will face Ilia Topuria in the main event of the UFC White House card on June 14. Should Gaethje beat Topuria at UFC Freedom 250, he will unify the belt and earn his first true, undisputed UFC title.

Brandon Royval, No. 4 in flyweight — The Denver native is coming off consecutive losses, including a TKO at the hands of Manel Kape in December and a loss to current champion Joshua Van last summer. His next fight hasn’t been officially announced, but Royval teased an upcoming bout

Cory Sandhagen, No. 4 in bantamweight — After losing a title fight to Merab Dvalishvili last October, Dvalishvili then lost the belt to Petr Yan in December. Sandhagen, a Smoky Hill graduate who trains at High Altitude Martial Arts in Denver, also lost to Umar Nurmagomedov in 2024. Sandhagen’s next fight is to be announced.

Curtis Blaydes, No. 4 in heavyweight — After losing to current champion Tom Aspinall via a TKO one minute into their interim heavyweight bout at UFC 304 in England, the Golden fighter rebounded with a split-decision win over Rizvan Kuniev last summer. Blaydes fights Josh Hokit on the main card of UFC 327 on April 11 in Miami.

Rose Namajunas, No. 6 in flyweight — The Westminster fighter has been up-and-down. After beating Tracy Cortez at Ball Arena in the summer of ’24, Namajunas lost to Erin Blanchfield later that year. Then she beat Miranda Maverick in ’25 before losing to Natalia Silva in January in a title eliminator fight. Next fight: TBA.

Raquel Pennington, No. 2 in bantamweight — The Colorado Springs fighter became the state’s first female UFC champion when she beat Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision in 2024. But she lost her title defense in a split decision to Julianna Peña later that year, and It’s unclear when she’ll return to the octagon.

With the medical issues of the past couple of years in her rearview, Maycee Barber is set to fight Alexa Grasso in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday

There, the Greeley native and Denver resident believes she’ll deliver a performance that will extend her winning streak to eight and springboard her to her first career title shot in the flyweight division.

“It’ll be a finish over (Grasso),” Barber predicted. “It’ll be a win over a former champion. It’ll be a dominant performance over her. And I don’t think there will be anything else that I need to do to prove or anything more I need to do to be able to get a shot at the belt.

“At the end of the fight on Saturday night, I get to say that I want my title shot. So that’s what I get to look forward to, and I’m very excited for that.”

The bout is as Barber’s last loss came in 2021 to Grasso, via a unanimous decision at UFC 258 in Las Vegas. Since then, Barber’s piled up wins while Grasso won the belt in 2023 over Valentina Shevchenko. Then, the Mexican lost the belt in 2024 to Shevchenko, who successfully defended her title twice last year. Shevchenko is UFC’s top-ranked pound-for-pound female fighter.

Barber is fifth in the and Grasso is third. And while Barber has been on a win streak, she’s also dealt with a couple of health scares that kept her from fighting.

In the spring of 2024, following a victory over Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299 in Miami, Barber was hospitalized for nine days. During that stay, Barber also developed pneumonia, and doctors couldn’t pin down exactly what was wrong. The fallout from that ordeal, in addition to being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, led to Barber against fellow Coloradan Rose Namajunas at Ball Arena that July.

Barber then appeared poised to return to the octagon last summer against Erin Blanchfield, but suffered what Barber as a “pseudo-seizure” as she was warming up for the fight. Once again, doctors were unable to diagnose exactly what happened that led to the medical emergency, though Barber believes the ’24 and ’25 incidents were related.

The 27-year-old finally returned to action in December 2025 at UFC 323 in Las Vegas, registering a unanimous decision over Karine Silva.

“It’s always challenging when you face those health issues and you’re like, ‘Is (continuing to fight) going to be possible?'” Barber said. “But the UFC got me around the best doctors, the best neurologists. They didn’t figure out exactly what it was (that caused both episodes), but they figured out a solution.

“The only thing that we did figure out is that it’s not bothering me right now, and I’m able to train. I’m healthy and I’m able to perform. And so that’s what’s most important, is that I’m able to do what I love to do.”

Should Barber beat Grasso, she might have to wait — or possibly fight and win again — to get her shot at the belt. Ahead of the UFC 324 bout between Namajunas and Natalia Silva, both women said the UFC told them the fight , with the winner getting the next crack at Shevchenko. Silva beat Namajunas via unanimous decision and is now 8-0 in the UFC.