Dana White and the UFC brass probably aren’t thrilled at this moment.
Saturday night’s UFC card was already one of the weakest events of the year on paper, and fans were let down even more when the main event was canceled just minutes before it was set to start.
The UFC Vegas main event was supposed to have Erin Blanchfield taking on Maycee Barber at the Apex. There was an ominous cloud hanging over the fight after Barber missed weight on Friday morning, but officially the bout was still scheduled to happen.
Minutes before the walkout was to happen for both fighters, UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell came into Blanchfield’s dressing room and told her the fight was off, as Barber had apparently had a medical emergency.
According to Blanchfield, she was told her opponent had a seizure.
Blanchfield seems to have no love lost for Barber, as she cold heartedly made reference to the condition in her post-fight interview. Here’s a look at the interview:
Perhaps there is some sentiment amongst those closer to the situation who believe Barber’s situation wasn’t legit. I doubt Blanchfield knows that for sure, but she was clearly miffed at the weight miss on Friday and even more dissatisfied with Barber being unavailable to fight on Saturday night.
As it is, hopefully Barber is OK and can potentially return to fight. If she is no longer able to make 125 pounds healthily, this ordeal may be the last signal that she needs to move up to bantamweight if she hopes to continue her career.
Thankfully, the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division could use an injection of talent below the likes of champion Julianna Peña, Kayla Harrison, and returning legend Amanda Nunes.
Perhaps a rebuilt Barber could slide in there and make some noise. As for Blanchfield, she’ll likely move on to the next challenge. She could look to face Natália Silva next. Silva is the No. 1 contender for Valentina Shevchenko’s title, but there is a strong belief that UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang is moving up to flyweight to challenge Shevchenko.
Because of Weili’s dominance, it’s likely she gets a shot before Silva. The latter could wait it out or take a potential fight with Blanchfield. We’ll see how it unfolds in the next few months.
Here is a look at all of the results from the UFC action on Saturday night:
- Mateusz Gamrot defeats Ľudovít Klein via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
- Ramiz Brahimaj defeats Billy Ray Goff via submission at 3:16 of Round 1 (guillotine choke)
- Dustin Jacoby defeats Bruno Lopes via knockout at 1:50 of Round 1 (punch to head at distance)
- Ketlen Vieira defeats Macy Chiasson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Zachary Reese defeats Duško Todorović via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
- Allan Nascimento defeats Jafel Filho via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
- Jordan Leavitt defeats Kurt Holobaugh via submission at 1:39 of Round 1 (anaconda choke on ground)
- Bolaji Oki defeats Michael Aswell via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
- Alice Ardelean defeats Rayanne dos Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
