2024 has been an incredibly difficult year for UFC flyweight contender Maycee Barber. At UFC 299 in March, the #4-ranked contender earned her sixth consecutive win by defeating Katlyn Cerminara via a unanimous decision.
Shortly after, she was hospitalized for nine days due to an illness that doctors couldn’t correctly identify. She later spoke in an interview on The MMA Hour about how at one point, she didn’t think she would be able to overcome this illness, going as far as to call her loved ones because she didn’t think she had much longer to live.
Over time, her energy started to slowly come back but a scheduled return in a main event against Rose Namajunas would come around too quick for her. Barber withdrew from the fight and was replaced by Tracy Cortez, writing on Instagram that after being told that she would be able to compete by July, she didn’t feel like her body was “even close” to being ready for a fight, let alone a five-rounder against a former champion.
In a recent interview with Morning Kombat, Barber gave a positive update on her progress and what it was like to miss out on the fight with Namajunas earlier this year.
“Everything’s going great now. It has been a long journey. I was so bummed when, well first of all, I was so excited to fight Rose because not only was I fighting Rose but I was also fighting in Denver where I made my UFC debut. So for me, it was my first main event, it was a very huge opportunity for me and I was so excited and then I was devastated when I was told, ‘Hey look, you’re not going to fight on this card’. Obviously the health is more important so I was devastated but I have made a lot of progress coming forward and I can’t wait to be back.”
She also gave a planned timeframe for her return and though it still seems far away, especially considering that she was originally booked to face Namajunas this past July, she’s ahead of her previous estimations.
“Yeah, actually I was just messaging with Mick (Maynard) and Hunter (Campbell) called me as well. I’m hoping for April honestly. I mean I know it still is a little ways out but for me, that’s the timeline that I was given and so originally, I thought I was gonna be until July, August of next year but it’s looking more like April.”