Maycee Barber narrowly edged past Miranda Maverick by split decision tonight at UFC On ESPN 27 after picking up the pace in the second half of the fight.
Round One:
Barber circling on the outside. Maverick lands a kick. She comes up short with a couple of punches. Body kick from Maverick.
Barber swings and misses and Maverick lands a jab. Now a leg kick from Maverick. Kick upstairs from Maverick comes up short.
Straight left for Maverick. Maverick with a punches and then body kick. Body punch then one upstairs from Maverick and another strike behind it.
Another body kick for Maverick and then Barber goes for one of her own. Inside leg kick from Maverick. Left-right combo from Maverick and a kick too.
Another high kick attempt from Maverick. Lots of circling from Barber. She bounces off the cage and throws a couple of punches.
Jab for Barber and Maverick returns fire. Maverick presses forward and lands a left hand. Barber tries to let her hands go, but Maverick lands a body kick to counter that.
Final 10 seconds and Maverick gets the better of a brief exchange with a kick, then lands a final punch before the bell.
Round Two:
Maverick short with a few punches. She lands a side kick to the body. Both come up short with strikes. Solid leg kick from Maverick now though.
Grazing jab from Maverick. Now she works to the body and head with a combination of punches. Maverick presses forward with purpose as she lands a couple of straight punches.
Clinch situation and Maverick walks Barber over to the cage. Maverick with a few knees in close and then backs off.
Barber aggressively lands a few punches down the pipe. Now Barber goes for a takedown, but Maverick prevents from getting down completely. Barber stays clinched up though and continues to press Maverick up against the cage.
Barber lands a punch as they separate. Low leg kick for Maverick. She comes up short with punches. Body kick from maverick as Barber was coming forward.
Nice counter punch from Maverick, but then Barber does land a punch of her own. Maverick bursts forward and lands a nice takedown.
Maverick gets onto Barber’s back as she’s trying to stand. She gets the body triangle in and is able to lands a few punches as the round comes to a close.
Round Three:
Jab gets thorough for Maverick. Now a leg kick. Right hand from Barber. Side kick to the body from Maverick to maintain distance.
Inside leg kick for Barber. Barber clinches and lands a punch, then back to striking range. Missed head kick from Maverick and Barber tried to land a counter that missed the target.
Maverick gets the better of a brief exchange. Now a low kick. Barber throwing heavy leather but not finding the target cleanly and gets caught with a counter.
Definitely more intensity now from Barber, but needs to find the mark. She steps in and lands a nice right hand. Now she’s working for a takedown and lands it.
Maverick looking to stand against the cage and is able to, but Barber drags her down again. Maverick straight back up again though and gets away as Barber lands a punch.
Two minutes left. Two jabs from Maverick but misses the straight behind it. Barber clinches up again and presses into the cage. She’s looking for a takedown here and Maverick is defending for now as we head into the final minute of the fight.
Barber tries to drag her to the mat, but not able to. Good spinning elbow from Barber lands as she breaks away.
Kick upstairs from Maverick and then nicely avoids a punch from Barber. Barber drives back into the clinch looking for a takedown, but can’t land it in the final few seconds of the fight.
Decision:
Maverick got off to a fast start here then with her combination striking, while Barber didn’t really warm up until the second half of the bout, doing particularly well in the final five minutes as she became more aggressive and incorporated more grappling and clinch work.
In the end the judges are not unanimous on the winner, with Barber eventually emerging with a narrow split decision victory (29-28 x2, 28-29), and Maverick may feel a bit hard done by with that result.
