UFC Vegas 52 results: Maycee Barber punishes Montana De La Rosa over three rounds to win unanimous decision

Maycee Barber put on a punishing performance over all three rounds to win a lopsided decision over Montana De La Rosa at UFC Vegas 52.

The 23-year-old prospect was dominant in the clinch as she continuously pressed De La Rosa against the cage, which set up some brutal punches and elbows from the inside. Barber never slowed her pace as she just continued to batter De La Rosa until the final horn with all three judges giving her the nod with 30-27 scores across the board.

“It feels amazing,” Barber said about her win. “To be honest, I don’t have a specific call out but I know I’m going to be a champion one day. I’m coming for the belt.”

It was a war of positions against the cage with Barber forcing the fight into the clinch almost immediately with De La Rosa constantly fighting for underhooks as she attempted to reverse positions.

With confidence in her ability to maintain the pressure, Barber started unloading some brutal punches on the inside including one shot that landed behind De La Rosa’s ear that appeared to wobble her momentarily. Barber continued to hammer away with De La Rosa scrambling to get out of a bad position.

As the second round got started, Barber looked for the same strategy except this time De La Rosa was able to drag the fight to the canvas where she looked to showcase her grappling game. Barber eventually slipped free from De La Rosa’s grasp, which allowed her to get on top where she started dropping down elbows from inside the guard.

Once the fight was back on the feet, Barber continued to employ the same strategy that had been working best for her by pressing De La Rosa against the cage and throwing a barrage of punches and elbows. Barber was careful not to allow De La Rosa to shift her hips to perhaps look for a takedown as she continued hammering away from the inside.

The damage just kept coming with Barber keeping a grueling pace and De La Rosa just had no answers until time ran out.

After suffering back-to-back losses, Barber has bounced back with two straight wins as she looks to continue her climb up the flyweight ranks with the momentum she’s now started to build.