UFC Vegas 107 ended in one of the most bizarre moments in MMA history.
UFC flyweight contenders Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber were set to square off in a five-round main event on Saturday at UFC Vegas 107. The Top 5 flyweights had the chance to fight in the UFC Vegas 107 headliner with titleholder Valentina Shevchenko sitting cageside, with a potential title shot on the line for both fighters.
But just minutes before Blanchfield and Barber were scheduled to make the walk, chaos ensued at the UFC Apex facility.
After a video promo package aired at UFC Vegas 107, featuring Blanchfield and Barber’s routes to the fight, silence overcame the Apex and no walkout music played. The UFC broadcast team featuring Brendan Fitzgerald, Laura Sanko, and Daniel Cormier announced that the UFC Vegas 107 main event was canceled due to an undisclosed medical issue on Barber’s side.
Erin Blanchfield shuts down rescheduling Maycee Barber fight after ‘super unprofessional’ pullout
It was a bizarre end to UFC Vegas 107, as Blanchfield and Barber were set to compete for title contention with the flyweight division’s titleholder sitting a few feet away.
As Blanchfield and her team prepared to leave the locker room and make the walk into the arena, UFC CBO Hunter Campbell stopped them to give them the shocking news. Minutes later, Blanchfield issued her first public remarks on the abrupt end to UFC Vegas 107.
During a recent interview with ESPN, Blanchfield gave her instant reaction to the UFC Vegas 107 main event’s cancellation.
“Hunter [Campbell] came in, said [Maycee] was having a severe medical issue and wasn’t going to be able to fight,” Blanchfield told Megan Olivi.
“I knew that once I saw him, I knew it wasn’t something good and real serious. I’m just in disbelief.”
Blanchfield was then asked about the prospect of rescheduling the Barber fight, and shut it down immediately.
“No, my coaches right away were like ‘Don’t entertain that, she’s not on your level. Super unprofessional’,” Blanchfield answered.
Barber’s withdrawal comes just hours after the rising flyweight contender missed weight for the first time in her UFC career by 1.5 pounds on Friday. Despite the weight miss, the UFC opted to move forward with the UFC Vegas 107 headliner, with Blanchfield and Barber sharing a heated faceoff after the weigh-in.
Maycee Barber’s last-second pullout caps off all-time bizarre UFC fight week
Barber’s pullout from UFC Vegas 107 caps off one of the wildest fight weeks in recent UFC history.
UFC Vegas 107 fight week began with several opponent switch-ups, as welterweight Trevin Giles attempted to step up to face Andreas Gustafsson in a short-notice bout. But Giles was forced out of the Gustafsson fight due to a head injury he suffered while cutting weight for the event.
Several fighters, including Barber, missed weight ahead of UFC Vegas 107. But once the fights started, there were some entertaining moments and highlight-reel knockouts.
UFC light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby got back into contention with a brutal first-round knockout over Bruno Lopes during the UFC Vegas 107 main card. UFC lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot turned back Ludovit Klein in the co-main event, and called out Benoit Saint-Denis and Paddy Pimblett after the win.