Maycee Barber takes aim at Paige VanZant: ‘She wouldn’t be anywhere without the UFC’

While Maycee Barber prepares for her upcoming fight against Gillian Robertson in Boston on October 18, she’s taking aim at a woman she hopes will be a future opponent, Paige VanZant.

Since she has entered the UFC, Barber, also known as “The Future” has consistently discussed the countdown clock on her phone, where has a mission to become the youngest UFC champion in the history of the sport. In order to do so, Barber will have to break the record held by current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. While her goal and focus is to become the youngest champion, she feels Paige VanZant wouldn’t have any of the opportunities she currently has if it wasn’t for her place in the UFC.

In an interview with James Lynch of The Score, Barber said she’d like to be the next opponent for Paige VanZant, who is on the final fight of her contract. While the two have exchanged in back-and-forth on social media, Barber told The Score that VanZant wouldn’t be anywhere without the UFC.

“Now she makes more money outside than she does in fighting because she’s not fighting,” she said. “As far as her last fight on her contract, that’s my fight. If she wants to fight in Bellator, if she wants to move out, she can fight me on her last fight on her contract, or she can never fight again, that’s up to her.”

The comments about VanZant making more money outside of fighting stem from a recent interview VanZant did with ESPN, in which she said her endeavors outside of the Octagon makes her more money than fighting does. The way Maycee Barber sees it, VanZant wouldn’t have these other opportunities if it wasn’t for her place in the UFC.

“She would not be anywhere that she is right now without the UFC and what she’s done, and what they’ve given her, so she didn’t hold up her end of the bargain. When the UFC signed her, I think they saw someone who had very good marketability, and they thought could fight, and she’s not holding up her end of the deal. She’s not fighting.”

Undefeated in her professional MMA career at 7-0, Barber got her opportunity with the UFC by earning a contract through Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2018, and has since picked up two victories in both her UFC fights, coming against Hannah Cifers and JJ Aldrich.

While Paige VanZant has been out of action due to surgeries, her most recent fight was a victory over Rachael Ostovich in January of this year. Outside of the UFC, VanZant has been featured on TV shows Dancing With The Stars and Chopped while also modeling for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Would you like to see Maycee Barber vs Paige VanZant in the future?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/23/2019.