Latest news with #MayceeBarber
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch BTL live NOW
It's been a wild week in the world of MMA, and it began this past weekend prior to the scheduled UFC Vegas 107 main event between Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber, when the latter was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to a health emergency — and that was the beginning of the road to UFC 316 fight week. Advertisement On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the fallout of this past Saturday's headliner getting scratched, both fighters' comments since, and if it could be a massive fight for the UFC in the future. Additionally, they'll discuss Tom Aspinall publicly saying he's the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion and wishing Jon Jones the best in his 'retirement,' if the fight is officially off of life support and gone altogether, UFC 316 as a whole, if the card is good, Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2, Julianna Pena vs. Kayla Harrison and the rivalry growing by the day, and much more. Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and multi-promotional commentator Ben 'The Bane' Davis. Watch the show live at a special start time of 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT in the video above. If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods. Advertisement More from
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Midnight Mania! Black Beast Cheats On Purpose, Gets Away Scot-Free
Welcome to Midnight Mania! Let's start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Wedneseday, June 4, 2025. Confused Maycee Barber attempts to explain last-minute main event pull-out: 'It looked like a pseudo-seizure': It'll be very interesting to see if we ever get a confirmed diagnosis on what went wrong for 'The Future.' Overrated? Top-ranked contender downplays Khamzat threat: 'There are better fighters': It's a lot of fun having Reinier de Ridder in the Middleweight mix. Former UFC knockout artist now too 'Big,' so BKFC owner Conor McGregor created Super Heavyweight division (and title): Big Ben Rothwell is absolutely built for bare knuckle, and I feel like he'll thrive more at Super Heavyweight. Insomnia Derrick Lewis has dropped some all-time great quotes this week, and this is my favorite. Long live 'The Black Beast!' Advertisement It's easy to view this as a desperation move (and it probably is), but I like this from PFL. I would happily drop $25 bucks to see one of their events! Justin Gaethje never misses a chance to front roll. A more interesting match up than the average collision of unranked Middleweights! Most reports and rumors estimate Shavkat returning in January at the earliest. Who should he face in his comeback bout? A sneaky way to set up the left kick from Giga Chikadze: In case you're wondering if Quinton Jackson has changed much over the years … Slips, rips, and KO clips The one time it really counted, Merab Dvalishvili was able to find the finish and begin his UFC journey. Advertisement When both guys fling hooks, the one pulling backwards is more likely to catch the one leaping forward. Jack Della Maddalena with a nasty KO on the regional scene: Random Land Good composure under pressure. Midnight Music: Alternative, 2000 Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way. More from
Forbes
05-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Maycee Barber's Coach Says She Begged Team Not To Cancel UFC Fight
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 31: Maycee Barber has her hands wrapped prior to her fight during the UFC ... More Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC) Maycee Barber was moments away from making the walk to the Octagon for her main event fight opposite Erin Blanchfield on the UFC Vegas 107 fight card when a medical issue left Barber unable to compete. According to Barber's coach, the highly ranked women's flyweight competitor begged her team to allow her to fight on Saturday night before the fight was called off. 'For the record, Maycee did not pull out of her fight,' Barber's coach Cody Donovan wrote on Instagram. '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. I am proud of the bravery she showed in the face of a medical emergency. Most fighters would have ran for door. When they tell the story of @mayceebarber this will be the Goliath that she got to overcome on her road to greatness. God is good." Instagram - Cody Donovan MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Maycee Barber prepares to face Katlyn Cerminara in a flyweight fight ... More during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 09, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) During the prelim portion of the UFC Vegas 107 card, 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], Mono, and toxic levels of mercury in her blood. "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. "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 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. The next event on the UFC schedule is UFC 316 on Saturday.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maycee Barber opens up on UFC health scare in first interview since hospitalization: 'Really upsetting'
Maycee Barber is still working through the details of what caused her late withdrawal from UFC Vegas 107's main event. The top-ranked flyweight contender is feeling better physically after being rushed to the hospital this past weekend just minutes before she was supposed to walk to the Octagon to fight Erin Blanchfield. Though a bit discouraged and sad, Barber remains more frustrated than anything else. In her first interview since the incident, she joined "The Ariel Helwani Show" on Wednesday to reflect on the fateful moments before UFC Vegas 107's main event was canceled. She's still unsure where things went wrong. Advertisement "I was in the back warming up, and obviously people also were asking about the weight cut just because of me missing weight, and why I missed weight and all of that," Barber said. "Again, I'm not quite sure what went wrong, but something happened during the weight cut that the coaches and [my nutritionist] Tyler [Minton] called that off. They didn't want me to keep cutting. They felt that if I kept cutting, I was going to end up in the hospital. "The rehydration was fine. Everything was great, I felt good on fight day. And then I was warming up — and to be honest, that's really all that I remember, is warming up. Then I remember being in the back of an ambulance and that's really all that I remember. But I do know that I've cut the same amount of weight before, I've done everything the exact same as this week. So I'm not really sure what happened or what's going on, but [UFC CBO] Hunter [Campbell] and Dr. [Jeffrey] Davidson and all the doctors at UFC, they're trying to get me the best doctors and the best care." On fight night, Blanchfield revealed that she was told by Campbell that Barber suffered a seizure in the locker room right before walkouts. Barber clarified Wednesday that she'd never had a seizure before and is set to travel for further tests and exams to help determine what went wrong with her health. Advertisement Ultimately, she does believe there was a correlation between this and her failed weight cut. "To be honest, we don't know if it was a seizure," Barber said. "We don't know that it is that, because there were no doctors necessarily in the room. I've seen videos of what happened. I've seen everything, and doctors have seen videos, and they're not saying, 'Oh, it was 100% that.' They're just trying to figure out what it was. So I've done CT scans, I've done MRIs, I've done multiple tests already. "I've done the exact same [weight-cutting] process, I've worked with Tyler for years and years, and we've never encountered something like this, so I think that it's what made the cut challenging. Now we're trying to get to the bottom of it, because again, that can't happen. One, I can't be missing weight from something like that, and also I cannot have an outcome with a fight like that. I can't be trying to walk out for a fight and then not make it there. It was really upsetting." Barber added that she is not comfortable at present sharing what she saw on the video of the incident. Advertisement Blanchfield took aim at Barber after the fight fell apart at the eleventh hour, calling her unprofessional. Blanchfield clarified her comments to Uncrowned on Monday, stating on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that she was mainly referring to Barber's half-pound weight miss. Blanchfield added that she felt Barber needed to get her life in order, citing various outside-of-the-cage issues Barber's had in recent years. "I don't think Erin's been through anything really difficult," Barber said in response. "I can't say that 100%, but she's young — I mean, we're both young — but I think that I've had a lot of life thrown at me. I think I've been through a lot of things. Injuries, sickness, health issues, losses, wins. I've had a lot of experience within the UFC and just within life, and I think that is a maturity that I've been able to accomplish. I'm not quite sure that she has the same maturity, and for her to go out and say that — also, there's a lot of emotions. She's getting ready to walk out. There's probably some nerves there, and all of a sudden you're like, 'Oh, you're not walking out.' And I'm sure that she was upset, but the reality is she walked away with a show [purse], a win [purse] and a percentage of [my] purse. I walked away with a bunch of health issues and nothing. Advertisement "I think that she did just fine. She could turn around and fight next week if she wanted to. I'm going to be working on this for a while. And I know that the UFC is behind me and they're doing everything they can to help me get through this and to help me get back to where I need to be, but for her to say that I'm unprofessional and I need to get my life in order — yes, I need to get my health in order, because I've given everything to the sport because I'm a professional. I have given everything I have inside my body to this life and to being the best I can possibly be. It's not always easy, and I wish the best for her career and I wish the best for her health and her life, but I wouldn't wish this on anybody. It's frustrating, it's challenging, and I think that she should learn to have a little bit of compassion and understanding. "You never know when something is going to happen in your life. So I wish her nothing but the best, but I think that's very immature of her." After making it through a second canceled fight camp for a potential Barber fight, Blanchfield has repeatedly said she's permanently moving on from Barber. Ideally, she'd like to fight someone ranked above her for her next bout, eying the likes of Natalia Silva or former champion Alexa Grasso. Barber fully intends to get her health sorted out before returning to the Octagon. Still, if a Blanchfield matchup does ever materialize, she's even more determined to come out victorious after this latest chapter in their rivalry. "I think that there is the history. I think that we're building this where there's going to be a lot of things she said, there's things I've said, and I think that's what builds fights," Barber said. "I think it's a perfect fight. It might be a cursed one. It might be one of those fights where it may never happen. But if I ever get the chance to, I promise you that I will beat Erin Blanchfield, and I will finish her, and I will hurt her."
USA Today
04-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
Maycee Barber struggles to explain medical issue that forced UFC on ESPN 68 withdrawal
Maycee Barber struggles to explain medical issue that forced UFC on ESPN 68 withdrawal Maycee Barber has opened up on the medical issue that caused her to withdraw from UFC on ESPN 68, but she doesn't have many answers. Just 30 minutes before she was scheduled to make the walk against Erin Blanchfield in this past Saturday's flyweight main event at the UFC Apex, Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was transported to the hospital after she wasn't medically cleared to compete, and the fight was canceled. She checked out of the hospital Monday, but a couple of days later, Barber is still trying to figure out exactly what happened. "We're not entirely sure what happened," Barber told ESPN. "Obviously there was a medical emergency. We're not quite sure exactly what it was, what it is, but there was something that happened, and I don't exactly remember everything. But there was an event that happened in the back when I was warming up, and the doctor, the commissioners, like everybody saw it. The commissioners were asking me if I was OK, and I was saying that I was, and they didn't think that I was. "They kept asking the coaches, and the coaches were like – again, I'm not entirely sure because it's hard for me to remember everything that happened, but from what I was told, the coaches were like, 'We're not quite sure.' They were trying to figure it out, and they ended up getting the doctors. Next thing I know, I was in the back of an ambulance and being transported to a hospital. I stayed there and was doing a bunch of tests and trying to figure out what was going on." This isn't the first time Barber has been hospitalized for medical reasons caused by a fight. She spent nine days in the hospital after defeating Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299, and ongoing health issues forced her to withdraw from her UFC on ESPN 59 bout against Rose Namajunas last July. Barber said the UFC is seeking the best doctors and specialists to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to her. "It looked like my autonomic nervous system might have been having an issue," Barber said. "They said it looked like a pseudo-seizure, is what I was told, but there's no answer. We need to run tests." Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was visibly frustrated and went off on Barber, who is more upset with how the fans have reacted. "I see people commenting, 'Oh, I'm glad it happened to her and not to someone who is relevant,' and I feel that's a pretty heartless and cold thing to say," Barber said. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I wouldn't wish this kind of situation, an unknown situation, on anybody. It's frustrating because it makes me have a lot of sympathy toward whoever has a medical issue or something going on in their life."
