LAS VEGAS – Maycee Barber is back. After 21 months without fighting, “The Future” was finally able to set foot in the octagon and continue her winning ways.
Saturday at UFC 323, Barber (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) picked up a unanimous decision win over Karine Silva (19-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC). It was very emotional for her, as Barber hadn’t fought in almost two years. She had to overcome some scary health issues that knocked her out of her fight against Erin Blanchfield in May, mere minutes before its scheduled time. Barber, who reminded the world she’s one of the best female flyweights, couldn’t be any happier with how things played out for her at UFC 323.
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“I don’t know if I have a lot of words, honestly,” Barber said at a UFC 323 post-fight news conference. “It’s been so long. I don’t know if there are a lot of words to put in that much time.”
Barber is currently on a seven-fight winning streak, and nearing an opportunity to fight for the UFC title. Although she’s happy to get her hand raised, given everything she’s been through, just fighting alone regardless of the result was a big personal win for her.
“I’m just really happy to be here and be really blessed,” Barber explained. “When I was walking out, at the end of the day, this is a job that I have, there’s another woman standing n front of me and I have a goal and a dream that I am chasing, and she’s in my way. There’s nothing that is going to get in the way of that but at the same time, there’s a girl inside of me that just loves to go in there and chase a dream, too, and having that taken away from me was really challenging and frustrating to me, especially when I have a bunch of people that are putting in hours of work with me and constantly checking on me and trying to help me and help me chase this dream and make sure I’m doing the right things, and make sure they’re doing the right things to help me accomplish my goals. So when I don’t get to do what I love, it’s frustrating. So just being able to walkout to the octagon tonight was a win.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 323: Maycee Barber brought to tears after 21-month layoff
