Women’s flyweight Maycee Barber cracked the Top 5 rankings with her UFC 299 win over Katlyn Cerminara on March 9 in Miami, Florida, but the celebration was short-lived. Barber revealed on Monday that she spent nine days in the hospital following her UFC 299 win.
“Well, the past few weeks were quite the ride and included lots of highs and lots of lows,” Barber wrote on Instagram. “Following my fight, I spent 9 days in the hospital being tested and treated for an infection that they thought were a mix of different things from Strep A to Staph. Being in the hospital and still not having a true definitive answer while battling a 105 degree fever for days, having extremely low blood pressure, HR, and oxygen, was incredibly hard,” Barber explained.
“Despite having multiple IV antibiotics and medications over the course of several days, they were unable to get my fever to drop, which eventually led to me developing Pneumonia. It definitely wasn’t what I had planned and was honestly very scary at times. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure if I was going to be okay, but I know that whatever happens was meant to happen and that it’s all just another piece of the puzzle of life,” She continued. “Grateful for everyone who has been by my side through it all. Little scares like this make you really step back and appreciate those around you! God is good and I am blessed!”
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Barber (14-2) is riding a six-fight winning streak and is ranked fourth in the women’s 1125-pound division. Her last loss came three years ago at UFC 258 to the current champion, Alexa Grasso.
Vinc Pichel | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The UFC 301 lineup now features 14 bouts after the addition of a pair of lightweight contests.
Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, who were originally booked to meet this past November at UFC Sao Paulo, have agreed to collide on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. Also, Jamie Mullarkey face octagon newcomer Mauricio Ruffy.
Marcel Dorff and Laerte Vianna first reported the match-ups.
Pichel (14-3) flew to Brazil to face Bonfim in November but decided not to fight after “Marreta” missed weight, walking to the scale at 159.5 pounds. Pichel took on social media at the time to criticize the Brazilian prospect.
“My opponent didn’t even try to make weight and I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism, which I’m sure he regrets,” he wrote. “I am huge on self responsibility and he showed none by his actions and by missing weight by so much, so I decided to give him some for his actions.”
Pichel was on a three-fight winning streak before dropping a decision to Mark Madsen in his most recent bout in April 2022. Bonfim (19-4) knocked out Terrance McKinney in his debut before tapping to a rear-naked choke to Benoit Saint Denis this past July.
Mullarkey (17-7) will attempt to rebound from a loss to Nasrat Haqparast when he faces Sao Paulo’s Ruffy (9-1) in May. A teammate of Jean Silva and Caio Borralho at Fighting Nerds, also set to compete at UFC 301, Ruffy is on a four-fight winning streak, capped off by a late finish over Raimond Magomedaliev at Dana White’s Contender Series.
UFC 301 will be headlined by flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja taking on Steve Erceg. UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo returns from retirement to battle Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event.
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Middleweights Anthony Hernandez and Roman Dolidze have agreed to meet on June 1 at UFC 302, with the event expected to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Monday.
A winner of five fights in a row, Hernandez has quickly become a player at 185 pounds as he’s continued to impress with his recent performances. Most recently, Hernandez stopped the momentum built up by Roman Kopylov when he scored a second-round submission against the Russian at UFC 298 in February.
He’ll look to build on that win streak when he returns to action in June.
Meanwhile, Dolidze attempts to put the brakes on a two-fight losing skid, which includes a majority decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov back in February. Prior to those setbacks, Dolidze had rattled off four wins in a row, including knockouts of Jack Hermansson and Phil Hawes.
Hernandez vs. Dolidze joins a growing lineup headed to UFC 302, with a main event still to be determined.
The jiu-jitsu ace has become notorious for his silly antics and wacky personality throughout his career. Despite that, Jones is one of the most talented people in the world at his craft, and he shares his knowledge when he gets the chance.
Jones and his team held a seminar in Warsaw, Poland, this past weekend and then drove to Kyiv, Ukraine, for another. Upon his arrival in Kyiv, Jones shared on Instagram that during the night drive, 31 missiles were shot down. Luckily for Jones, he and others in the area avoided disaster as a missile struck down five minutes from his hotel, as seen in the embedded video above.
“Ballistic missile landed somewhere nearby,” Jones said.
“Here I’m holding part of the missile,” he continued when checking out the blast site. “4000-kilo missile that f—king hit five minutes from my hotel. Actually was shot down this morning. Obviously, here’s the crater. The guys are already filling their stuff back in now. But f—king crazy. Obviously, things are tense out here, but the air siren goes off, the missile gets shot down, everyone goes back to work afterward. The world doesn’t just stop.”
To Jones’ surprise, 250 people attended his Kyiv seminar. All proceeds from the event will go to Ukrainian soldiers who train jiu-jitsu.
Jones, 32, has picked up two stellar victories within the past month: first at Karate Combat 44 via a flying triangle (watch highlights) and then at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6. However, don’t expect the Australian wildman to return at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) tournament.
The two-time former UFC flyweight champion announced Monday that he is taking a break from MMA following his split decision loss to Brandon Royval at UFC Mexico City in February. In an eight-minute message on Instagram, Moreno, 30, emphasized that he is not retiring, but simply needs some time off after suffering his first two-fight losing streak since 2018.
“I just think I’ve reached a limit in my mind, and I’m tired,” Moreno said in Spanish (translation courtesy of MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura).
“It’s not goodbye or anything like that, it’s just wait for me, be patient with me, let my body, but more than anything my mind, my head, compose itself and recover — recover and we’re going to get back to doing things right. The last time that happened, I came back, and I became a world champion. I’d like to think I can do the same, and when I return, I’m going to go on a tear. I still think I’m an incredible fighter, and I have all the qualities and abilities to be a champion again.”
Moreno (21-8-2) has been a central player in the UFC flyweight title scene since re-signing with the UFC for his second stint in the promotion in 2019. Moreno captured the belt twice with victories over Deiveson Figueiredo over the course of a four-fight series with the Brazilian from 2020-23, but then dropped the title this past July with a split decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno was expected to be a top contender to face Pantoja again, but ultimately lost that opportunity with another split decision setback against Royval.
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with Moreno’s management that the Mexican fighter’s Monday announcement signaled only a break from MMA and nothing more.
Moreno’s entire message in Spanish can be read and watched below. (Translation courtesy of Segura and MMA Fighting’s José Youngs.)
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A post shared by Brandon Moreno (@theassassinbaby)
“What can I say? Even a month after the fight, I’m still digesting it a bit. I’m thankful for the beautiful moment because that walk to the octagon in Arena CDMX was super cool. It was something special and very beautiful because the last time I was there was in 2019, and people already knew who I was, and I was getting cheered, but you can’t compare it to this time. Everyone was supporting me and singing my song, and it was beautiful.
“At the same time, it also frustrates me a bit because I tried so hard to win. The camp was very good. I managed to stay away from injuries, and I was able to work very well. I put all my heart to get the win, and it didn’t happen. I now have two consecutive losses, but they’re two weird losses. Those are losses where you can make an argument that I won. Obviously, at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. Even though one guy left to the hospital and the other had to be taken out on a wheelchair out of the arena, I still didn’t get the win. So based on that, there’s work to do.
“I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I’m putting in the work, I’m dedicated, but the results just aren’t there, and it’s very frustrating. This is something that makes me very sad, but something that makes me who I am is that I always find a way to come back.
“I think with all the technical aspect things aside, I think I’m just tired. I’m tired of the media, the same questions, the vibe, the constant pressure. I don’t even think it’s a single moment anymore. I think it’s everything I’ve piled on my shoulders in the last few years. I’ve reached a point where my mind is stressed, and I just want to rest a bit. I’m not saying I’m 100 percent stepping away from MMA, but I do want to take a break to rest, be with my family and just be a normal person, be with my daughters, and just do new things.
“There are many things I haven’t done because I’m 100 percent focused on my training. I just want to rest a bit. This is by no means a goodbye. Just wait for me, have patience, let my body and my mind recover, and we’ll come back to do things well.
“It’s not goodbye or anything like that, it’s just wait for me, be patient with me, let my body, but more than anything my mind, my head, compose itself and recover, recover and we’re going to get back to doing things right. The last time that happened, I came back, and I became a world champion. I’d like to think I can do the same and when I return, I’m going to go on a tear. I still think I’m an incredible fighter, and I have all the qualities and abilities to be a champion again.
“I just think I’ve reached a limit in my mind, and I’m tired. But outside of that, everything is excellent. I’m happy. I leave with the event on Feb. 24 with all the Mexicans that did get wins: ‘El Loco’ Torres, Daniel Zellhuber, Edgar Chairez, Yazmin [Jauregui], Jesus Aguilar, all of them had the flag up high, and we have to keep supporting them. I know that more Mexican talent is coming, and we’ll see them in big UFC events. So I leave with that and the support. Everyone that supports me is fully on board, and there’s no way I can ever repay that. At this point, all I promise is that I’ll continue fighting, moving forward, and I will find the right path to move forward. I’m going to do everything to pick myself up again. I want to do it, I know I can do it, and I’m going to do it. I’m going to be champion. I just need to rest my body and mind.”
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