Alexa Grasso re-entered the win column at UFC Seattle on Saturday. With overwhelming force.
The former UFC women’s flyweight champion ended rising star Maycee Barber’s seven-fight winning streak with a devastating left hook in the first round. Then, for good measure, she went for the rear naked choke as Barber crumbled to the ground.
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Referee Mike Beltran quickly called the fight, leaving Grasso celebrating and Barber out cold on the mat. Barber remained motionless for at least a minute, with Grasso later kneeling by her side.
It was a surreal scene, and a clear Knockout of the Year candidate.
Barber recovered well enough to take part in the announcement of the official decision and shared a hug with Grasso, who had just notched her first win in more than three years.
Grasso’s last win was her stunning upset of Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight belt at UFC 285 on March 4, 2023. Since then, she has drawn and lost against Shevchenko, then lost to Natália Silva last May.
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“I’m back. Alexa without injuries is different. I’m so happy,” Grasso said to the UFC’s Daniel Cormier after the fight. “Of course my striking is always the first weapon, but I was training so hard to get a finish by submission because I trained jiu-jitsu a lot. I wanted the finish.”
Grasso declined to call out any specific opponent, but made her case to UFC CEO Dana White and CBO Hunter Campbell for an event in her native Guadalajara for Noche UFC.
