The UFC ended the first quarter of 2026 with a major card in Seattle – its second in just over 13 months.
The card boasted three women’s fights supporting the Israel Adesanya-Joe Pyfer main event. In the co-main, Alexa Grasso and Maycee Barber met again after over five years, and this time the judges were not needed.
Grasso put down Barber in the first round with a brutal left cross, then pounced with a right from behind and even also cinched a rear-naked choke afterward. The following scene proved scary, as Barber helplessly clung onto referee Mike Beltran’s leg before slumping onto the mat, eyes wide open as if staring blankly into an abyss.
Meanwhile, in the prelims, Casey O’Neill ended a 19-month layoff with an emphatic finish of her own, blasting Gabriella Fernandes with punches in the first round. O’Neill then screamed triumphantly as she ran across the cage. Finally, to open the night, Alexia Thainara avenged the only loss of her career this far, sweeping the scorecards against Bruna Brasil.
That being said, whom should each woman fight next?
After explosively retiring Molly McCann with a rear-naked choke in her Octagon debut, Thainara has had a more normal follow-up act. Decision wins over Loma Lookboonmee, and Brasil may have served to slightly dampen the hype behind Thainara, but she still deserves a step up in competition.
Amanda Ribas has seen better days, currently mired in a three-fight skid that has seen her finish twice. Nevertheless, she remains a savvy veteran who has won over the likes of Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba, the last two people to fight for the strawweight title. Getting past Ribas should net Thainara a top-10 ranking and a path to bigger names ahead.
It seems as if the O’Neill who ran through her opponents is slowly but surely returning. In her post-fight interview, she stated that she wanted to be active throughout 2026, and one name makes perfect sense.
Cong Wang currently sits just one rank above O’Neill and is coming off a win over Eduarda Moura. A fight between them is a perfect banger to add to a Macau card that is expected to feature plenty of Chinese representation. Time to see who “sinks” out of the rankings and who “floats” further up the echelon.
Entering Saturday, Grasso had her back to the wall. She was mired in a three-fight winless stretch and facing a vengeful opponent on a seven-win streak and with all the momentum. Yet despite all that, she prevailed, delivering quite possibly the most emphatic win of her career.
With Natalia Silva expected to get the next crack at Valentina Shevchenko, Grasso still has much work to do before securing another bout with the champion. Fortunately, Manon Fiorot is also eyeing a road back to a title shot after rebounding against Jasmine Jasudavicius in October.
Title eliminators do not get any more obvious than this. Both women deserve five rounds to work with, because championship fights are a different “beast” (pun accidental) from standard three-rounders.
Next week, the UFC begins the second quarter of 2026 with a return to the Apex. While headlined by former lightweioght challenger Renato Carneiro gatekeeping against a streaking Chris Duncan, the co-main carries the most stakes.
Jandiroba, coming off a second loss to Dern, looks to rebound against Tabatha Ricci, who is coming off a brutal TKO of Ribas. In an evolving strawweight division, a loss could mark the end of Jandiroba’s days as an elite contender, while a win for Ricci will vault her to the elite…
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