Maycee Barber still has hopes of becoming the youngest UFC champion in history despite suffering a setback.
Barber shared the Octagon with Roxanne Modafferi on the featured preliminary bout on the UFC 246 card. Barber was taken down in the opening frame but was able to thwart transition attempts. In the second round her knee gave way, significantly hindering her mobility. Barber ended up dropping a unanimous decision.
She is set to undergo surgery for a torn left ACL in two weeks.
Barber’s Lofty Goals Remain The Same After UFC 246
In a prepared statement sent to MMAFighting.com, Barber made it clear that she still believes she can reach the top of the mountain in the UFC.
”The loss has not shifted my goals in the sport at all,” Barber wrote in a prepared statement sent to MMA Fighting by her father and coach Bucky Barber. “It has added more goals to the pre-existing ones. I’m still gonna be the youngest champion in UFC history.”
Barber discussed the moment when her knee gave way against Modafferi.
”I realized that the muscles surrounding my knee were starting to want to protect it,” she wrote. “Round two started, and I realized the pain had gotten worse (and the) instability had gotten greater. I don’t remember a lot, but I remember being slow and seeing her jab come and wanting to step back. With that half a second extra of thinking, she caught me with the jab. I still stepped back, but my leg wasn’t there. The stability had left me.”
Do you think Maycee Barber will bounce back from her UFC 246 loss and injury?
