Erin Blanchfield doubles down on criticism of 'unprofessional' Maycee Barber after UFC Vegas 107 health scare

Yahoo

2 days ago

Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber just wasn't meant to be.
UFC Vegas 107 came to an abrupt end this past Saturday when Barber suffered a last-minute health complication directly before her walkout, which resulted in the fight's cancelation and Barber's hospitalization just as the two flyweight contenders were scheduled to walk out.
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Blanchfield was critical of her rival in the immediate aftermath of the cancelation, calling Barber unprofessional. Barber also missed weight by a half-pound for the bout, tipping the scales at 126.5 pounds the day prior, which added fuel to Blanchfield's pre-fight concerns of Barber making the fight.
Speaking on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," Blanchfield clarified her comments.
"She can't control medical issues that she's having, so that's not unprofessional," Blanchfield said. "I meant more the weight miss on Friday, and kind of the way she approached it. I believe she was offered more time to cut weight and didn't, missed weight, then still was acting the way she was at weigh-ins. That's more what I meant about being unprofessional. That, I still stand by.
"I wouldn't want to be matched up with her again," Blanchfield continued. "This fight was our second time getting matched up. She pulled out of the first one, now this one. I know she had issues, but if she does have that severe of medical issues, she will be that kind of unreliable fighter, so that's why I wouldn't want to be matched up with her again."
The flyweight duo has been linked since they were first set to fight at UFC 269 in 2021. Barber ultimately withdrew from that bout with an ankle injury and then dealt with an unknown health scare this past year. She hasn't fought since her unanimous decision win over Kaitlyn Cerminara in March 2024.
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Blanchfield, 26, spoke to the media after the late UFC Vegas 107 cancelation, also commenting that she believes Barber has a lot to figure out with her "messy life." Admittedly still feeling the effects of the news at that time, Blanchfield believes better precautions could have been taken by Barber.
"The whole life thing, I was caught up in the moment myself," Blanchfield said. "She probably does have some issues, because if she was having issues leading up into this fight, she should have pulled out sooner just so I would have been able to have another opponent, or maybe told the UFC she was having some problems so they can have a backup fighter. And been somewhat honest about her condition. I think that definitely wasn't right of her to do either. Then with everything that happened, it just kind of blew up."
Barber took to social media on Sunday, sharing photos and videos of herself in the hospital. She issued a brief apology to both the UFC and Blanchfield, stating that the mishap was a "bad hand" but that her life isn't a "mess."
Despite not fighting, Blanchfield confirmed that the UFC did reward her with her show and win purses, along with still receiving 20% of Barber's show money thanks to the weight miss.
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"I wish she would have apologized even at the weigh-ins," Blanchfield said. "I thought she would have been a little bit more apologetic about missing weight instead of kind of doubling down. She's apologizing now, so I'll accept it.
"It's bittersweet because it's like, at least I was able to get paid, so I'll still be able to take care of myself in that sense. But I fight because I do really love it. It is a job and getting paid is important, but it is a passion job for me, so it's still super deflating. I don't think I realized up until yesterday and today how sad it is. I'm so jealous that I wasn't able to fight — or even taking out my braids, everything was so weird having to do that without having fought. So yeah, that was pretty upsetting."
Ultimately, Blanchfield is ready to move on and work her way toward a title shot. Before the fight, Barber was confident that a win would've put her in a prime position to earn an opportunity of her own. Blanchfield believed the same could've been said for her, but now she's targeting matchups with fellow top contenders like Natalia Silva or former UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.
Had Blanchfield vs. Barber occurred, Blanchfield expected to take her rival into deep water and win late.
"I was kind of expecting her to come out hard," Blanchfield said. "The first round or two, I didn't know how her cardio was going to be for five rounds, I didn't know if she was kind of questioning that, so I was kind of figuring that she was going to come out and try to put me away right away. I was kind of prepped for her to come out hard and be able to be technical and try to work that aspect of my game, and then kind of beat on her as the rounds went. But yeah, I guess we won't be able to find out."