Maycee Barber Releases Statement After Withdrawal From UFC Vegas 107
The UFC had run a promo package for the main event of Saturday's UFC Vegas 107 fight card when the camera cut to the bewildered trio of Daniel Cormier, Laura Sanko, and Brendan Fitzgerald at the cageside commentary table. Fitzgerald then announced that they had "just received word that Maycee Barber is not prepared to walk for her main event right now." Shortly after that, Fitzgerald announced that the Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber bout had been canceled because of a 'last-minute medical issue for Maycee Barber. She is not cleared medically to compete.'
The fight at UFC Vegas 107 was to be Barber's first since she defeated Katlyn Cerminara in March 2024.
During the prelim portion of the event, UFC commentator Megan Olivi reported on the medical issues that had kept Barber out of the Octagon since her win over Cerminara.
"A myriad of very serious health issues have plagued the UFC flyweight," Olivi said. "In fact, it resulted in an 11-day hospitalization. She had over a dozen rounds of IV antibiotics, and she was diagnosed with things like Epstein-Barr [Syndrome]
"They brought in a Colorado infectious disease specialist to see if they could diagnose and treat whatever was going on with her, and still, to this day, Barber doesn't really have any answers.
"However, they were able to find a combination of medicine to help control all the things that were happening inside here., to help her feel better and to get back to training and competing. But yesterday, it was obvious. The time away, paired with all those health issues, really resulted in difficulty in making weight."
Olivi then related that she had spoken to Blanchfield after Barber weighed in a half-pound heavy for the 135-pound bout. During that conversation, Blanchfield told Olivi she was concerned that Barber would not be able to make the walk to the Octagon for the fight. Ultimately, Blanchfield's fears became a reality.
'I feel like I'm still in pretty much disbelief right now,' Blanchfield said at the UFC Vegas 107 post-fight press conference. "I feel like I was in disbelief yesterday when she missed weight because we knew about this fight since January. You could've been 50 pounds overweight and still missed weight. So she missed weight, then she gets to Saturday. She gets to the locker room. I'm fully ready to go. She's supposed to be ready to go. Supposedly now she has all these health issues right when we're supposed to fight. I think it's pretty crazy. I think it's pretty unprofessional. I wouldn't want to fight her again."
"I don't know, she needs to look at another division," Blanchfield continued. "She needs to fix her life. She just needs to fix herself. I think she's a complete mess in every aspect of her entire life."
"Not what I had planned for a Sunday post," Barber posted on Instagram. "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 🤍"
Maycee Barber Instagram
Maycee Barber Instagram
Barber's post included video of her being taken out of the UFC Apex on a stretcher.
Blanchfield's management team reported that she will be paid her full show and win money for UFC Vegas 107. There has been no reporting on if Barber will receive any of her purse for Saturday's fight card.
UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko was on hand for the card because the fight could have determined her next opponent. Blanchfield is ranked No. 4 in the official UFC women's flyweight rankings, while Barber checks in at No. 5.
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