6 burning questions heading into UFC 246

MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle takes you through all the key storylines heading into Saturday night’s major event.

How far off is Maycee Barber from a title shot?

Maycee Barber

Yeah, I know. [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag] is still only 21 years old. And heading the pack at 125 pounds is one ruthless killer of a fighter in Valentina Shevchenko.

But then you look at Barber’s resume, and you see a competitor who has starched just about everyone placed in front of her. That includes all four of her UFC fights, all of which have been won via TKO, most recently the Roufusport competitor’s first-round finish of Gillian Robertson at UFC Boston in October.

On one hand, you don’t want to rush a legitimate prospect into a title shot. We saw how doing so set Francis Ngannou’s career back for a while. On the other, if Barber, who has the confidence to say she wants to become the youngest champion in UFC history, runs through a wily veteran such as Roxanne Modaffieri (23-16 MMA, 2-4 UFC) the same way she did her previous foes, given the lack of depth at 125 pounds, where else are you going to place her?

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