Tensions are ramping up between UFC flyweights Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield ahead of UFC Vegas 107.
UFC flyweight contenders Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield will fight with a potential title shot on the line this weekend at UFC Vegas 107. The two talented young stars are chasing down UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, after Shevchenko’s impressive title defense against Manon Fiorot earlier this month.
Barber and Blanchfield enter UFC Vegas 107 with a lot of momentum. But after a lengthy hiatus due to health issues, Barber will get a high-profile main event booking this weekend.
Just days out from UFC Vegas 107, Blanchfield is concerned that Barber won’t make it to fight night, and that the UFC matchmakers will have to prepare for a backup plan.
Maycee Barber responds to Erin Blanchfield’s media jabs ahead of UFC Vegas 107
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Blanchfield was asked about whether or not she’s concerned about Barber withdrawing from the fight on short-notice.
“Yeah, a little bit of worry,” Blanchfield said of Barber. “Because Maycee is someone that has pulled out of fights pretty frequently. She has a history of that. There’s always a worry but that could happen with anyone at the same time.”
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Barber responded to Blanchfield ahead of UFC Vegas 107.
“I did [see the comments], and I think they’re pretty dumb,” Barber said. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to say that she thinks I’m going to pull out of the fight, like I have this history of pulling out of fights. I’ve pulled out of two fights, total, and both were for some pretty serious things…
“Kind of a weird thing for her to say, I think she’s just trying to figure out what she can say bad about me, because I think she can’t really talk anything bad about my style or my marketability…
“That’s the only thing she can say about me, is that she thinks I might not show up to the fight. Her fighting style is terrible, there’s a lot of things you can say about Erin Blanchfield, she’s a boring fighter and she has a terrible style.”
Blanchfield drew some criticism for her most-recent win over Rose Namajunas at UFC Edmonton. In a sluggish fight from start-to-finish, Blanchfield walked away with a decision victory to bounce back from her first UFC defeat.
As of this writing, Blanchfield hasn’t responded to Barber’s comments, but tensions are ramping up ahead of UFC Vegas 107. Blanchfield, Barber, and Natalia Silva are all in the mix for a title shot as Shevchenko plots the next move of her second flyweight title reign.
UFC Vegas 107 star got beaten up in sparring just days before Octagon return
The UFC Vegas 107 co-main event features the return of top contender Mateusz Gamrot against unranked lightweight Ludovit Klein. Gamrot returns to the cage for the first time since a split decision defeat to Dan Hooker at UFC 305.
Just days before UFC Vegas 107, Gamrot helped American Top Team teammate Dustin Poirier get ready for his UFC 318 retirement fight against Max Holloway. Poirier and Gamrot partnered up for a brutal sparring session, which left Gamrot pretty beaten up from the all-time great’s hands.
Gamrot’s comeback comes after he accused Benoit Saint-Denis and other lightweights of turning down numerous fight offers. Saint-Denis called out Gamrot after the former’s dominant win at UFC 315 earlier this month.