UFC star admits ‘looking dead’ after frightening KO in health update from Seattle title eliminator

Maycee Barber doesn’t ‘remember a lot’ from her loss at UFC Seattle, but says she is on the road to recovery.

The 27-year-old was knocked out cold by Alexa Grasso in the co-main event on Saturday, before the latter jumped on her back and locked in a rear-naked choke to finish the fight.

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UFC CEO Dana White called the stoppage at the Climate Pledge Arena show ‘one of the greatest finishes in sports history’, and it has since gone viral online.

Although she admitted feeling down about seeing her limp body on social media, thankfully, Barber addressed her defeat on Sunday and said she is doing well.

Barber ‘blessed’ but avoiding Grasso stoppage online

“Well, this is not the post or video that I wanted to be making today,” Barber explained on Instagram.

“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.

“Unfortunately, it was not my night. I got caught and Alexa did an amazing thing.

“She’s a phenomenal fighter and I don’t really remember a whole lot.

“All I know is that every time I go on social media, I look like I’m dead and that’s not a very fun thing to see.

“So I’ve been trying to stay off of social media, but I also wanted to come on here and at least tell you guys that I am okay.”

Barber, who suffered a seizure moments before her scheduled main event fight against Erin Blanchfield last May, was on a seven-fight winning streak before UFC Seattle.

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She hadn’t lost since suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Grasso in February 2021.

Despite how tough the loss has felt for her, an emotional Barber added that she is feeling “very blessed” in her life as a fighter, regardless.

She continued: “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.

“I’ve had some pretty tough days, so that was still one of the greatest days of my life, being able to walk out there and being able to do what I’ve done.

“I will be back. I’m gonna heal up and put in the work and get back out there…

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“It’s very hard because I don’t remember a lot, so this is me saying thank you to everybody and also, I love you all.”

Grasso eyes fourth Shevchenko fight

Both Grasso and Barber were ranked in the top five at women’s flyweight ahead of UFC Seattle.

Grasso will now hope to get another shot at reclaiming her old throne.

The 32-year-old made her UFC debut in 2016 and shockingly claimed gold for the first time by submitting dominant champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023.

Six months later, the pair fought out a draw after five rounds in Las Vegas, before Shevchenko outpointed Grasso in the trilogy.

‘Bullet’ has since defended the title against Manon Fiorot and Zhang Weili, and could find herself fighting Grasso for the fourth time down the line.