UFC 258 Odds: Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso Prediction
Saturday’s UFC 258 co-main event see’s a women’s flyweight bout between Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso.
This is a dead heat on the MMA odds with Barber and Grasso both listed at -115 to win.
Maycee Barber UFC 258 Odds
Maycee Barber (8-1 MMA record) started 2020 looking like she was poised to take over the women’s flyweight division. The 22-year-old Barber had made an immediate splash in the octagon, debuting in 2018 with TKO wins over Hannah Cifers, JJ Aldrich and Gillian Robertson. With her eyes on a title shot to potentially surpass Jon Jones as the youngest champion in UFC history, Barber’s perfect record was smashed in a unanimous decision loss to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in January 2020. She spent the remainder of the year recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the fight. How Barber rebounds from a serious injury and her first career loss will say a lot about this fighter. On Saturday she’ll be looking to prove she’s still the future of the flyweight division.
“The Future” plays a high-risk, high-reward style. She fights at an extremely high pace and lands an incredible 8.18 significant strikes per minute. The problem with this style is she leaves herself vulnerable and absorbs 7.85 significant strikes per minute. Barber is always looking for a KO punch and has a 59 per cent striking accuracy compared to 41 per cent for her opponent. She is the better all-round fighter, but she is coming off the longest layoff of her career. Barber’s mental recovery could be the biggest factor in this fight.
Alexa Grasso UFC 258 Odds
Alexa Grasso (12-3 MMA record) is hoping the move up to flyweight will bring her some more consistent results. Grasso started her career as a 9-0 strawweight, but began facing difficulty cutting weight. After missing or nearly missing making weight multiple times at strawweight, Grasso finally jumped up to flyweight last summer. Grasso is 3-3 in her last six fights, but convincingly won her flyweight debut in a unanimous decision over Ji Yeon Kim in August. Saturday is a chance for Grasso to prove she can be a consistent fighter again, and prove she’s here to stay in the flyweight division.
Grasso’s biggest advantage in this fight will be her diverse fighting game. She’s a smooth striker and her footwork helps her defend well against heavy hitters like her opponent. Managing the distance in this fight will be key for Grasso. She can mix up her attack and frustrate her opponents. If Grasso can stay away from her opponent and land smart shots, she’ll have a great chance to win this fight.
Barber vs. Grasso UFC 258 Prediction
These are two fighters who started their careers with long win streaks, but now have something to prove. Barber looks like she’ll do well after her move to the flyweight division, but her skill likely won’t be able to handle Barber’s intensity. Look for Barber to come out swinging hard to prove her first career loss was a blip on the radar. Barber could easily win this by first round KO/TKO.