Maycee Barber has been preparing for what could be the most important bout of her career, a headliner at UFC Fight Night against Erin Blanchfield on May 31, 2025. It’s been years in the making, especially since their planned 2021 contest was called off due to Barber’s injury. ‘The Future,’ now ranked fifth in the flyweight division and riding a six-fight winning streak, looked like a woman possessed after crushing Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299.

But just days following that high, things took a terrible turn. Instead of celebrating a career-defining success, Barber found herself in a hospital bed, afflicted by a sickness so severe that she wondered if she’d survive. So, what went wrong? Let’s find out all about her life-threatening illness.

Maycee Barber develops pneumonia

It all began with a red spot on her shin. It appeared harmless at first, but gradually swelled and darkened, as ‘The Future’ described, like “someone took a baseball bat” to her leg. Within hours, her condition began to spiral. She reached 102°F, then 103°F. By the next morning, her fever had risen over 105°F.

As a result, ‘The Future’ was admitted to the emergency room barely three days after UFC 299. Doctors conducted a battery of tests. Strep A, staph, MRSA, and even sepsis were on the table. However, nothing stuck. She was being treated blindly with antibiotics and pain relievers, but her fever refused to go down.

Her blood pressure plummeted, her oxygen levels fell dangerously low, and things only got worse. “I spent nine days in the hospital being tested and treated,” she wrote on Instagram. “It was scary… there were moments I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she wrote in an Instagram post that she shared with her concerned fans.

She revealed that there were times when she feared for her life, unsure whether she would survive as her condition deteriorated with each passing day. Eventually, she developed pneumonia, complicating her recuperation.

Barber gives health update after hospital stay

Maycee Barber’s recovery has been nothing short of a crucible, both physically and emotionally. After nine hard days in the hospital battling high fevers, low oxygen, and a pneumonia diagnosis, she was finally released, but not without visible and invisible scars. She described the incident as the most horrifying experience of her life, testing her resilience in ways the Octagon never did.

In an emotional update to her fans, ‘The Future’ expressed her gratitude to the medical personnel who cared for her and the fans who stood with her throughout the uncertainty. “Every day felt like a fight I couldn’t train for,” she admitted, emphasizing how helpless she felt during the ordeal. Walking and taking deep breaths became challenges in and of themselves.

While her main event fight against Blanchfield remains on the schedule, Barber admits she’s taking things one day at a time. For the time being, her comeback tale has taken an unexpected turn, as no one expected her to enter the Octagon with half a health bar. But if anyone has the tenacity to persevere, it’s Maycee Barber. So, what do you think? Will she be able to pull off an unbelievable fight against Erin Blanchfield on May 31st? Let us know in the comments.