Maycee Barber breaks silence after health scare forced her out of UFC Vegas 107 main event

Maycee Barber recently opened up about her withdrawal from UFC Vegas 107, which took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Barber was originally scheduled to face No. 4-ranked contender Erin Blanchfield in the fight night's main event, but their bout was moved to catchweight when the 27-year-old was found to be half a pound overweight at the weigh-ins last Friday.

Unfortunately, Barber couldn't make it to the octagon at the very last minute as she was not medically cleared to compete, forcing her bout with Blanchfield to be scrapped. The American flyweight recently took to Instagram and issued a statement regarding her pullout, writing:

''Not what I had planned for a Sunday post. Thank you to everyone for the prayers & support I owe an apology to @ufc @mickmaynard2 @danawhite @seanshelby & @blanchfield_mma ** PS my life is not messy this is just a bad hand. We will get to the bottom of it all and be back''

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No. 5-ranked Barber was aiming for a strong performance, which would have put her in title contention, but a serious health scare reportedly derailed her plans. 'The Future' was riding on a six-fight win streak, the most recent being a unanimous decision victory over Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 299. Her last defeat came at UFC 258 in 2021, against former champion Alexa Grasso.

Notably, Barber was slated to take on Rose Namajunas at UFC Denver last year, but she pulled out of the bout due to preparation issues. The American then disclosed on social media that she was suffering from 'Epstein-Barr virus', which worsened her condition during fight camp, resulting in her withdrawal.

Erin Blanchfield dismisses a future bout with Maycee Barber

The entire MMA community was left disappointed with the cancellation of the Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber bout at UFC Vegas 107, mainly Blanchfield, who was eyeing a title opportunity with a potential win.

Blanchfield shared her initial reaction to Barber's last-minute pullout in an interview with UFC analyst Megan Olivi, saying:

''Hunter [Campbell] came in, said [Maycee] was having a seizure, a medical issue and wasn’t going to be able to fight. I knew that once I saw him, I knew it wasn’t something good and real serious. I’m just in disbelief...my coaches right away were like ‘Don’t entertain that, she’s not on your level. Super unprofessional’''

Check out Erin Blanchfield's comments below (0:09):

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena