Most UFC events are often highlighted by the men’s divisions, as their rosters have been around a lot longer and are much larger. But ever since the women’s division was introduced into the UFC in 2013, it has brought a whole new element to the company. In the past two weeks, the women have absolutely delivered, displaying new levels of talent and entertainment. Of course, there are big names like Valentina Shevchenko, Zhang Weili and Kayla Harrison who always put on great fights. But none of these women fought these past two weeks. This is proof that the UFC women’s roster is deeper with talent than it has ever been and has an extremely bright future in the sport.
Two weeks ago at UFC Fight Night Seattle, the main event was a big one. Israel Adesanya made his return to the octagon after more than a year, his longest layoff of his career. He faced rising star and powerhouse Joe Pyfer in a middleweight showdown. While this fight was a great one, it wasn’t the fight fans were buzzing about afterward. The co-main event between Alexa Grasso and Maycee Barber was a great matchup on paper, but it delivered an even better fight in action. Grasso, a former champion, faced Barber, who was on a seven-fight win streak at the time. While the fight itself didn’t last long, it was short and exciting. Both fighters were ranked in the top five of the women’s flyweight division, so it was bound to be a competitive, high-level bout.
The fight started, and it was abundantly clear that both women knew how dangerous their opponents were, but they weren’t afraid to exchange punches. They both delivered some strong striking combinations, a testament to their high-level boxing. Broadcaster and former UFC champion Daniel Cormier spoke about this seconds before the fight ended, saying, “That’s the one thing I love about watching these women fight. Neither one of them is afraid to engage. They both will step into the fire, throw their hands and extend those combinations.” Shortly after this line from Cormier, Grasso went right into the fire and delivered a highlight-reel knockout. She allowed Barber to step in close and threw a quick one-two combination. The second shot, with her left hand, sent Barber sprawling to the canvas.
But the former champion wasn’t finished there. To secure her victory, she jumped onto Barber’s back and locked in a deep rear-naked choke. Barber was clearly unconscious, but the swift combination from knockout to submission attempt was seamless. The referee immediately stepped in and called the fight, granting Grasso her well-deserved victory. The crowd chanted “Mexico!” — Grasso’s home country. It was a beautiful finish and a candidate for knockout of the year. It was concerning how long Barber was unconscious, but she was able to stand on her own and was in good health after the fight. In her postfight interview, Alexa Grasso said, “Of course my striking is always the first weapon, but I was training so hard to get a finish by submission because I train jiu-jitsu a lot. I wanted the finish.”
The following week at UFC Vegas, this knockout didn’t even take place on the main card and was still the talk of the night. In the bantamweight division, Alice Pereira and Hailey Cowan faced off to help start the night. Both fighters were unranked and separated by a 13-year age gap (Pereira is 20, Cowan is 33). In fact, Pereira is the youngest active fighter on the roster. With this chip on her shoulder, she had everything to prove going into the fight.
The bout started with some solid striking, along with a mix of takedowns (2 of 3, 66.7%) from Cowan. Going into the second round, Pereira took it to another level. Within the final minute of the round, she delivered a devastating knee to Cowan’s face. Upon impact, Cowan fell limp to the canvas immediately. Pereira followed it up with some ground-and-pound for insurance, but Cowan’s fate was already sealed. Referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight immediately, and the crowd erupted for Pereira. With everything on the line, the youngest fighter on the roster secured the best win of her career.
This knockout had UFC fans buzzing on social media, praising the women’s division and the pool of emerging talent. Pereira gave a passionate postfight interview and thanked her team, saying, “This win was for them. These are the people that brought me up in this octagon. They gave me all the support throughout this.”
Both Alexa Grasso and Alice Pereira put on masterclass performances in their respective fights. These two knockouts have helped shift the narrative about women’s MMA and have silenced critics. Fans can look forward to more fights like these from an ever-growing UFC women’s roster in the near future.
