UFC 246 went from bad to worse for star prospect Maycee Barber, who suffered a full ACL tear in her first professional loss.
According to ESPN, Maycee’s father, Bucky Barber, said they think Barber injured her knee in Round 1 of her fight with Roxanne Modafferi before tumbling from a grazing punch in Round 2.
Barber (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) held her knee on the way down and struggled with mobility for the remainder of the fight. After the end of the second round, a ringside doctor for the Nevada Athletic Commission examined Barber’s knee, proceeding to nonchalantly to tell the referee that she had a “small, partial ACL tear” but was fine to continue.
Modaferri, who was the biggest underdog on the UFC 246 card, would go on to defeat Barber via unanimous decision.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference Saturday, UFC president Dana White was just as confused as everyone at the events that transpired with Barber in between Rounds 2 and 3.
“So weird,” White said. “I know, man. I don’t know. It was weird. Where’s Hunter at? Did you ever find out what that was about? He wanted to check her knee. All right.”
Barber, 21, is expected to be out for about nine months.
UFC 246 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
