Maycee Barber said she is recovering after suffering a knockout defeat to Alexa Grasso in the co-main event of UFC Seattle on Saturday night.
Barber was stopped following a striking exchange that saw Grasso land a left hand that dropped her to the canvas, prompting referee Mike Beltran to step in moments later. The result ended Barber’s seven-fight winning streak and halted her momentum toward title contention in the flyweight division.
In a statement released on Instagram, Barber addressed the loss and her condition following the fight. “Well this is not the post or video that I wanted to be making today,” Barber said. “But I wanted to come on here and say thank you to the UFC and thank you to Alexa for the opportunity. I wanted to go out there and get my opportunity to get my rematch and dominate and get the win back and unfortunately, it was not my night. I got caught and Alexa did an amazing thing. She’s a phenomenal fighter.”
Barber said she had limited recollection of the finish but reassured supporters about her health. “I don’t really remember a whole lot. All I know is every time I go on social media I look like I’m dead and that’s not a very fun thing to see,” she said. “So I’ve been trying to stay off social media but I also wanted to come on here and tell you guys that I am OK.”
Looking ahead, Barber said she remains optimistic despite the setback. “I am very blessed to live the life that I do,” she said. “As tough as it is, going out there and being able to do what I did last night was still one of the greatest nights of my life. Despite all of that, that’s still one of the better nights of my life that I’ve ever had.” She added: “I will be back. I’m going to heal up and put in the work and get back out there.”
The defeat marked Barber’s third professional loss and came in just her second fight since returning from a lengthy layoff caused by medical issues, which previously forced her out of a scheduled bout against Erin Blanchfield.
