Barber’s father, Bucky Barber, confirmed the injury to ESPN. The previously undefeated fighter will undergo surgery soon, and is expected to be out of competition for nine months.
“We think she injured it in the first 10 seconds,” Bucky Barber told ESPN. “She stepped on Roxanne’s foot as she backed up and felt a pop. You can see the knee give out on the side. She went back and started fighting and trying to do things and I noticed she was flat in a way I’ve never seen before.”
The injury was obvious by the second round of the three-round bout, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s ringside physician was heard diagnosing “a small, partial ACL tear” before sending Barber back out to complete the final round. Fans immediately took to social media in protest. Barber, only 21 and 8-0 going into the bout, has years of top-level competition ahead of her, and many felt that risking a career-impacting injury was the wrong decision.
Barber entered the bout against veteran Modafferi as the overwhelming favorite. Her coach, former UFC fighter Ben Askren, predicted she’d be division champ by the end of 2020. “I think she’s going to get a title shot by the end of the year. That’s my prediction,” Askren said. “She’ll be the [125] champion… She’ll probably fight Roxy, then maybe Jessica Eye-ish– somewhere in that range. Then probably for the title.”
She was the biggest betting favorite on the entire card, with odds of -900 for a win (stake $900 to win $100). Modafferi, who fought her first professional bout when Barber was only five years old, has alternated wins and losses for the past couple years.
Modafferi put on the performance of her career, dominating the bout even before Barber’s injury, and refusing to target the knee once it became obvious Barber was hurt. After the bout, the first thought the Happy Warrior had was for her opponent. “I would like to say, I see that Maycee’s knee injured. I wish her a very speedy recovery.”
