5 Things You Might Not Know About Miranda Maverick

I am a Maverick. The Maverick.

Don’t stand in between me and my dreams. https://t.co/yy4MtsgdG7

— Miranda Maverick (@FearTheMAVERICK) July 21, 2021

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Miranda Maverick looks like a surefire future contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight division.

The 24-year-old prospect will toe the line against fellow blue-chip talent Maycee Barber in an intriguing UFC on ESPN 27 pairing this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Maverick has rattled off five consecutive victories since her unanimous decision defeat to DeAnna Bennett—a loss she later avenged—under the Invicta Fighting Championships banner in 2019. She last competed at UFC 260, where she outpointed Gillian Robertson across three rounds on March 27.

As Maverick makes final preparations for her three-round showdown with Barber, here are five things you might not know about her:

1. She burst on the scene as a teenager.

The flyweight prospect was 19 years old when she made her professional mixed martial arts debut in Invicta Fighting Championships on Nov. 18, 2016. Maverick submitted Samantha Diaz with a rear-naked choke 4:26 into the first round of their Invicta 20 pairing at the Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Missouri.

2. Higher learning remains a focus.

Maverick earned a bachelor’s degree—she double majored in psychology and sociology—from Dury University in Springfield, Missouri. Her educational exploits do not end there. Maverick is currently pursuing her PhD in industrial and organizational psychology at Old Dominion University in Virginia.

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3. She sought out top-notch training.

Maverick threw out her anchor at The House of Muay Thai in Norfolk, Virginia, where he sharpens her skills under World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC veteran Mackens Semerzier. A Miguel Torres protégé, Semerzier shook up the MMA world in 2009, when he upset former International Fight League champion Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 43.

4. She can impose her will on the ground.

The Jefferson City, Missouri, native holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and flexes those skills often inside the cage. Maverick has delivered five of her nine career victories by submission. Her methods of choice: two armbars, one rear-naked choke, one guillotine choke and one neck crank.

5. Well-rounded skills make her a threat everywhere.

Maverick has connected on 180 total strikes in just 20 minutes of Octagon time since joining the UFC roster in 2020. If she had enough fights to qualify, she would be one of the promotion’s most prolific strikers from a statistical standpoint.