Maycee Barber Eyes 2025 UFC Return After Career Setback
Maycee Barber’s planned 2025 return was delayed again: her May 31 main event with Erin Blanchfield was canceled shortly before the walkouts after Barber was not medically cleared to compete. She returned on December 6, 2025, defeating Karine Silva by unanimous decision.
Barber had been out since her March 2024 win over Katlyn Cerminara and withdrew from a scheduled July 2024 bout with Rose Namajunas amid health problems. The promotion’s official event report confirms the Blanchfield fight was canceled because Barber was not medically cleared; it does not state a diagnosis.
At the rescheduled return, Barber beat Silva on all three scorecards (30–27, 29–28, 29–28). She subsequently fought Alexa Grasso on March 28, 2026, losing by first-round knockout at 2:42. The official December scorecards and Seattle results record both outcomes.
Returning to the flyweight picture
The Silva victory extended Barber’s winning streak to seven, according to her UFC athlete record. That sequence gives the comeback its competitive context: she was trying to resume a successful run, rather than rebuild after a series of defeats. Completing three rounds and winning a decision also provided a full fight after a lengthy absence from competition.
The canceled Blanchfield main event and the completed Silva bout were separate bookings. Keeping those dates distinct explains why reports anticipating a return earlier in 2025 were followed by another delay. The December result finally supplied the outcome that those earlier comeback announcements could not.
Her later loss to Grasso ended the seven-fight streak. It belongs to the next stage of Barber’s flyweight career, while the Silva win remains the successful conclusion to her 2025 return.
