Last Saturday, the decision for Maycee Barber regarding her scheduled fight may not have been entirely her own.
Known as “The Future,” Barber was slated to face fellow flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield in the main event of UFC Vegas 107. However, the bout was abruptly canceled at the last minute when it was announced during the broadcast that Barber would not be able to make the walk to the octagon. Specific details about what went wrong for Barber remain unclear, though Blanchfield told reporter Megan Olivi that she was informed Barber had suffered a seizure just before the planned start time.
Blanchfield later criticized Barber for the withdrawal during the evening`s post-fight press conference, remarking that Barber is “a complete mess in every aspect of her entire life.” Barber responded in a statement on Sunday, pledging that she and her team would work through her issues to ensure she becomes fit to compete again.
On Tuesday, Barber’s coach, Cody Donovan, issued a statement via Instagram, absolving Barber of responsibility for the cancelled main event. According to Donovan, it was the coaching staff who ultimately decided to pull Barber from the fight.
“For the record, Maycee did not pull out of her fight,” Donovan wrote. “She refused to surrender in spite of what was happening to her medically. As a coaching staff, we decided to call the doctor in. Even as she begged us not to. What we saw was just too dangerous.”
Although most of Barber’s peers expressed sympathy for her situation, her withdrawal faced additional scrutiny because Saturday`s bout was intended to be her return to action after a layoff of nearly 450 days. Barber had previously been scheduled to fight Rose Namajunas in July 2024 but withdrew from that match due to health concerns, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the 27-year-old`s future in the sport following the Blanchfield fight cancellation.
In Donovan’s view, having to overcome adversity will only serve to make Barber’s eventual rise to the top even more inspiring.
“I am proud of the bravery she showed in the face of a medical emergency,” Donovan wrote. “Most fighters would have ran for [the] door. When they tell the story of [Barber] this will be the Goliath that she got to overcome on her road to greatness. God is good.”
