
Maycee Barber's Coach Says She Begged Team Not To Cancel UFC Fight
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

NBC Sports
4 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Kelsey Mitchell scores 21 points and Fever beat Aces 80-70 without Caitlin Clark
INDIANAPOLIS — Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points, Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston had double-doubles, and the Indiana Fever beat the Las Vegas Aces 80-70 on Thursday night. Indiana's Caitlin Clark remains sidelined with a groin injury, and the Fever said Thursday there was no timetable for her return. No further injuries were discovered during medical tests this week. Howard finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Boston had 13 points and 10 boards. Sophie Cunningham scored 15 points. A'ja Wilson, who averaged 31.7 points in the Aces' three-game winning streak, led Las Vegas (12-12) with 20 points. Jackie Young scored 19 and NaLyssa Smith had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana (13-12) had lost two in a row, both against defending champion New York — one before the All-Star break and one following the break. Howard scored 11 points in the third quarter, leading a 27-point effort by the Fever for a 62-56 lead entering the fourth. Indiana held Las Vegas to two points in a four-minute stretch of the final period and the Fever were up 69-62 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The lead was 75-70 after Jewell Loyd scored for Las Vegas, but the Aces went the final 94 seconds without a point. Aari McDonald hit a 3-pointer and Cunningham added two free throws to finish it off. Indiana led for most of the first quarter and the Fever had an 18-12 advantage with 1:40 remaining. Las Vegas made 6 of 7 free throws down the stretch to tie it at 18 heading to the second quarter. Wilson scored six of the first eight points of the second quarter and the Aces built a 26-18 lead. After the Aces fell behind 33-29, a 3-pointer by Loyd started a 12-2 run and they led 41-35 at halftime. Up next Las Vegas: At Minnesota on Friday. Indiana: At Chicago on Sunday.


Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
UFC Fans React To Retired Legend Being Officially Removed From Roster
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 19: Detail view of the gloves of Dustin Poirier on the canvas after ... More the BMF championship bout during the UFC 318 event at Smoothie King Center on July 19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) Dustin Poirier officially retired after his unanimous decision loss to Max Holloway on Saturday, July 19, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The entire event was built around Poirier's retirement fight, and the energy in the building was felt throughout the card. We all watched Poirier's heartfelt post-fight interview and the things he's said on the Ariel Helwani show and other media, but the finality of Poirier no longer fighting in MMA hit some UFC fans when UFC Roster News posted their update on X. This was a GIF-heavy string of reactions. There are more than 125 comments on the post, and the vast majority of them feature someone weeping. One fan posted a GIF from Berserk with the caption, 'my favorite fighter of ALL TIME GOAT.' Another one used a GIF from Dragon Ball to express their feelings about the situation. The GIF is of Vegeta being upset when he finds he is unable to go Super Saiyan, and he's standing dejected in the rain. Another said, 'won't be the same without him.' Another posted a GIF with a series of famous people crying, with Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James featured prominently. Poirier walks away from MMA competition with a 30-10 mark with one no contest. While Poirier never won an undisputed title in the UFC, he was the interim champion. His résumé is about as Hall-of-Fame worthy as anyone who never held undisputed gold. If you question Poirier's fitness for the Hall, I've got two words for you: 'Donald Cerrone.' WWE fans thought that was going somewhere else. How can a fighter have these wins and not be in the UFC Hall of Fame?Dustin Poirier – 5 Biggest Wins ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 13: (L-R) UFC President Dana White places the interim lightweight championship ... More belt on Dustin Poirier after defeating Max Holloway in their interim lightweight championship bout during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Poirier defeated Holloway by unanimous decision in a five-round war to win the Interim Lightweight Championship. It was a rematch nearly seven years in the making and one of the best fights of 2019, earning Fight of the Night honors. ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 23: (R-L) Dustin Poirier points at Conor McGregor of ... More Ireland in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 23, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Poirier shocked the world by becoming the first man to knock out McGregor in MMA, finishing him in the second round with a barrage of punches after crippling leg kicks set the VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 10: (L-R) Dustin Poirier punches Conor McGregor of Ireland during the UFC ... More 264 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) In their trilogy bout, Poirier earned a TKO win when McGregor suffered a broken leg at the end of Round 1. Though the ending was anticlimactic, Poirier was dominating the fight before the injury and moved to 2-1 in the rivalry. There was no doubt Poirier was going to YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 12: (L-R) Dustin Poirier works for a submission against Michael ... More Chandler during the UFC 281 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) After surviving early chaos and heavy shots, Poirier submitted Chandler via rear-naked choke in Round 3. The win solidified his standing as a top contender and showcased his grit and AZ - APRIL 14: (L-R) Dustin Poirier defeats Justin Gaethje in their lightweight fight ... More during the UFC Fight Night event at the Gila Rivera Arena on April 14, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) In one of the wildest fights in UFC history, Poirier stopped Gaethje via TKO in Round 4 after a back-and-forth brawl filled with leg kicks, power punches, and nonstop pressure from both men. It was a turning point that launched Poirier's run to the interim belt. Poirier established himself as a fighter's fighter and that's what fans loved most about him. I can't wait for his HOF induction. Shine bright Diamond.


Indianapolis Star
4 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
For Natasha Howard, it all starts with defense. On Thursday, it helped spur Fever's offense
INDIANAPOLIS – All good games on the offensive end start with shutdown defense. At least, that's how Natasha Howard sees it. 'Our defense gets our offense going,' Howard said. 'That's how we maintain games like that. We don't rely on our offense a lot. We rely on our defense. When defense is going, our offense is going. So we limited Vegas to one shot, and that's how we got open shots for shooters, inside the paint, everything.' And that led to a pivotal win for the Indiana Fever, as they left Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night with an 80-70 victory over the Las Vegas Aces. Indiana (13-12) now holds the tiebreaker over Las Vegas (12-12) if the two finish with the same record at the end of the regular season. It was also the first time in franchise history the Fever have won back-to-back games over the Aces. A lot of that was thanks to Howard. Howard, who played 30 minutes Thursday night, finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with 13 rebounds (five offensive) for her sixth double-double of the season. The 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Howard was brought back to Indiana to be a tone-setter. She did that Thursday. She took advantage of the Aces' defensive tendencies, powering through contact to draw fouls. She had a team-high seven free-throw attempts, making five of them. Howard also created extra possessions for herself and her teammates, cleaning up the glass with a team-high five offensive rebounds. She even rounded out her performance with a rare 3-point make. And, Howard says, it was thanks to her defense — and her teammates. 'I just went out there and just played my game, and also just chirping to my teammates, and my teammates chirping back to me as well,' Howard said. 'You're welcome,' guard Sophie Cunningham, sitting next to Howard, interjected. 'For me, it was just my defense,' Howard added. 'My defense translated into offense.' That defensive tenacity is something the Fever coaching staff has been prioritizing this season. Indiana was at the bottom of the barrel defensively for the past two years, allowing a second-worst 106.3 points per 100 possessions in 2023 and 107.5 points per possession in 2024. This season, under coach Stephanie White, the number has improved to 100.5 points per 100 possessions — seventh in the league. 'We really challenged their pride, their individual defensive pride,' White said. 'You gotta guard your yard. You gotta guard your matchup. We gotta guard two-and-two in the pick-and-roll. We gotta do a better job of locking into that consistently. And I felt like individually, for the most part, we held true to that. There were still some breakdowns for various reasons, but I thought we did a much better job, and we got better tonight.' Now, the Fever will need to do that consistently. Indiana has shown spurts of being a championship-caliber team, evident in those two wins over Las Vegas, a win over league-leading Minnesota in the Commissioner's Cup, and a win over the reigning champion New York Liberty. But Indiana hasn't been able to show up on both ends of the floor on a consistent basis this year, dropping winnable games (like giving the now-3-20 Connecticut Sun their first win of the season and suffering a second-half collapse against the Los Angeles Sparks). The Fever, coaching staff and players alike, know time is running out to have what they consider to be a successful season. And they'll need to turn those spurts of greatness into a constant to become a dangerous team. 'We have to just understand the urgency and attention to detail that it takes,' White said. 'We don't have the luxury of having breakdowns, of having lapses. We have to understand the sense of urgency that it takes with each possession… We've got quality depth, and we've got to be able to use it.'