Maycee Barber suffers torn ACL during loss to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246

Maycee Barber left UFC 246 with the first loss of her career and a torn ACL in her knee that will likely keep her sidelined for most of 2020.

News of the injury was first reported by ESPN after speaking to Barber’s father and the flyweight prospect later confirmed the news via Instagram.

In her father’s statement, Bucky Barber said that he believed the injury happened during the opening seconds of the fight when his daughter stepped down on Roxanne Modafferi’s foot and heard a pop in her knee.

”We think she injured it in the first 10 seconds,” Barber said.. “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.”

In a post on Instagram, Barber confirmed the injury while adding “try fighting 14:50 of the fight with a torn ACL!”

Barber could be seen limping back to her corner after the end of round 2 and she told her coaches about her injured knee. A ringside physician then came into the cage and checked the stability of Barber’s knee before stating that she likely had a “small, partial ACL tear” and then allowing her to continue while adding “she’s fine.”

The fight went the distance with Modafferi earning a lopsided unanimous decision win.

With a torn ACL in her knee, Barber will now have to undergo reconstructive knee surgery that typically takes 9 to 12 months of recovery time. Numerous fighters in the UFC have undergone similar surgeries including former two-division champion Conor McGregor, flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez and welterweight veteran Matt Brown.

Barber has been regarded as one of the top up and coming stars on the UFC roster after she earned her spot via Dana White’s Contender Series.

Now it appears she will spend the majority of this year rehabilitating her injured knee with her return not likely until either the end of 2020 or sometime in early 2021.