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UFC women's flyweight Miranda Maverick has proved that she could be a future star in her division after turning in an impressive performance against Gillian Robertson in the main card of UFC 260.
Following three hard-fought rounds, Miranda Maverick took the unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). After controlling the first round, Miranda Maverick overcame a determined effort from Gillian Robertson in the second round to convince the judges that she deserved the nod.
Clearly, Miranda Maverick is someone UFC fans have to keep an eye out for in the years to come. If you aren't familiar with her yet, here are five things you need to know about 'whippersnapper' Miranda 'Fear The' Maverick:
#5 Miranda Maverick is on a five-fight win streak
Her triumph over Gillian Robertson was Miranda Maverick's second win in the UFC, but she has already strung together five consecutive victories in MMA.
Miranda Maverick kicked off her winning streak by scoring back-to-back submission wins against Heather Walker-Leahy and DeAnna Bennett. In February 2020, she scored her third straight win when she beat Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision.
Maverick made a splash on her Octagon debut at UFC 254 in October 2020. She blasted her opponent Liana Jojua with a nasty elbow strike which opened a massive cut on her nose.
Between the rounds, the cut on Liana Jojua's nose would not stop bleeding, and the doctor had to intervene. Despite Jojua wanting to continue, the gash was so bad the referee had to stop the fight and award a TKO win to Miranda Maverick.
#4 Miranda Maverick started her career in Invicta FC
Much like women's MMA stars Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes, Miranda Maverick spent some time in Invicta FC. She made her professional cage fighting debut in 2016, where she made Samantha Diaz tap out in the first round.
Miranda Maverick followed up her strong MMA debut by racking up back-to-back wins against Kalyn Schwartz and Gabby Romero. Overall, Miranda Maverick had a decent Invicta FC stint, as she finished with five wins and two defeats during her stint in the promotion.
Would she follow the footsteps of Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes by becoming the next UFC superstar from Invicta FC? Only time will tell.
#3 Miranda Maverick is a BJJ Brown Belt
In her two most recent outings, Miranda Maverick has shown that her stand-up game is consistently getting better.
In her battle with Gillian Robertson, she set the pace early on by pushing forward with her strikes. Against Jojua, a devastating elbow strike secured the victory for Miranda Maverick.
But in the past, Miranda Maverick had displayed a penchant for tapping her opponents out. Of Miranda Maverick's nine wins, five have come by way of submission.
That's not quite surprising if you learn that Miranda Maverick is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt. She started taking up jiu-jitsu classes at 16 after being inspired by watching Ronda Rousey fight on TV.
At 23, she has a lot of time on her hands to eventually add a BJJ black belt to her resume.
#2 Miranda Maverick is country-strong (literally)
How is Miranda Maverick already this strong before hitting her athletic prime? That could very well be attributed to her upbringing.
Miranda Maverick was born in Tunas, Missouri, where she grew up working on her family's farm. She spent a lot of time moving around different states in the Midwest and southern USA. She's benefiting from her farm girl strength by becoming one of the fastest rising stars in the UFC.
#1 Miranda Maverick is a PhD student
Miranda Maverick is the total package, as she's the perfect combination of brains, brawn and beauty. Not only is she an up-and-coming MMA star, but she'll also have to be referred to as 'Dr. Miranda Maverick' in the near future.
That's because Miranda Maverick is pursuing a PhD degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
With a psychology and sociology major, Miranda Maverick graduated with honors from Drury University in 2018.
