Erin Blanchfield pulled no punches with her feelings towards Maycee Barber after their main event fight at UFC Vegas 107 was cancelled just seconds before they were scheduled to walk to the octagon.
The unfortunate turn of events happened in real time as a video package finished playing inside the UFC APEX that was supposed to lead directly to the walkouts but instead the broadcast team had to announce that Barber was not medically cleared to compete. Blanchfield expressed her disappointment at the UFC Vegas 107 post-fight press conference after she already accepted the fight despite Barber missing weight on Friday.
“She needs to look at another division,” Blanchfield said about Barber. “She needs to fix her life. She needs to just fix herself. I think she’s a complete mess in every aspect of her entire life.
“I’ve never even had any other opponents miss weight before or act the way she does. It’s pretty crazy, especially at this level. You expect all the athletes to be professional so it’s pretty wild.”
Blanchfield admitted in the weeks leading up to the fight that she had concerns about accepting Barber as an opponent after she had pulled out of previously scheduled matchup between them. Add to that, Barber hasn’t fought in over a year due to a mysterious medical condition that’s kept her out of action.
This latest incident forced Blanchfield to say she won’t accept another matchup against Barber and she’s moving forward with her career with hopes to draw a new opponent for her next fight.
“No, I would not want to book another fight with her,” Blanchfield said about Barber. “I would like to reassess, see who’s available. I still want to fight within the top five, still push towards that title fight. I think I need to talk to my manager, talk to Mick [Maynard], see what can happen.”
Blanchfield revealed that she was just waiting for her walkout music to hit the speakers inside the UFC APEX when she got word that the fight with Barber was cancelled.
That’s when UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell came backstage to tell her Barber was unable to compete.
“I was literally in the doorway, already had everything gloved up, my corners were ready to go,” Blanchfield said. “Literally in the doorway, like getting ready to walk out and then was told [the fight was off].
“I remember they said six minutes and I was like this feels like a lot longer. It didn’t feel like six minutes. No one said anything until Hunter [Campbell] came in and told me she was having a seizure and that she wouldn’t be able to compete.”
Coming off a win over former champion Rose Namajunas in her most recent outing, Blanchfield was excited for the opportunity to take out another ranked opponent with hopes that a win could potentially earn her a shot against reigning flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Now she’s stuck in limbo again with no real clue about what comes next.
“I feel like it’s almost a nightmare kind of thing,” Blanchfield said. “When you have jitters, you’re like maybe something will happen, the fight won’t happen but you never want that. It’s pretty disappointing.”
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