Erin Blanchfield’s scheduled main event at the UFC Fight Night took an unexpected twist when her opponent, Maycee Barber, withdrew just before the fight was set to begin. Barber could not compete because she was deemed medically unfit to continue. The announcers delivered the news after the event’s promotional package had already aired.

This incident occurred shortly after Barber missed the required weight by half a pound and looked unhealthy on the scale. In a post-event conference, Blanchfield did not mince her words regarding Barber’s performance and the circumstances surrounding the cancellation. She emphasized the lack of professionalism and called for Barber to consider moving away from the women’s flyweight division entirely:

“I feel like I’m still pretty in disbelief right now,” Blanchfield said. “I feel like I was in disbelief yesterday when she missed weight because we knew about this fight since January. You could have been 50 pounds overweight and still made weight. She missed weight and gets to Saturday and the locker room, I’m ready to go and she’s supposed to be ready to go.”

“She needs to look at another division,” Blanchfield added. “She needs to fix her life. She needs to fix herself. I think she’s a mess in every aspect of her entire life.”

This situation has stirred discussions among fans and analysts as it raises questions about fighter readiness and accountability leading up to scheduled bouts.