Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber have been connected for years now, and at UFC Vegas 107 they will finally collide with high stakes.
Working her way up to a title shot! 💥@Blanchfield_MMA is back in action this Saturday as she headlines #UFCVegas107! pic.twitter.com/JVQ02mIhdV
— UFC (@ufc) May 26, 2025
It is the very nature of the fight game to tie two people together. Competitors need adversaries, champions need challengers, and more. Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber are a pair that the fanbase organically pitted together and it’s very obvious why. Similar in age, stature, and record, both Barber and Blanchfield have been highly successful and have been touted as the proverbial “next big thing.”
Blanchfield, 26 years-old with a record of 13-2, has torn through the competition in her UFC run since joining the company in 2021. Going 7-1 in the company, “Cold Blooded” has very much looked the part of future champion in stoppages of the likes Jessica Andrade, Molly McCann, and JJ Aldrich. She’s also proven her credentials in victories over vets like Miranda Maverick, Taila Santos, and Rose Namajunas, the latter of which being her second headlining bout.
Among the big differences in their UFC careers will be the headlining experience in favor of Blanchfield. The New Jersey native has been the main event three times in her UFC career and gone 2-1, besting former champions Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas, with her lone loss coming to recent title challenger Manon Fiorot. She has also seen far more cage time in 2024, with two five round fights going into this key bout.
She can thrown down with the best of em 👊
Don't miss @MayceeBarber in the #UFCVegas107 main event on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/3LrleCVW3H
— UFC (@ufc) May 26, 2025
Barber has been a UFC darling since she debuted at 20 years-old on the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 by comparison. An admittedly outspoken prospect, the 27 year-old with a 14-2 record quickly rose up the ranks before running into adversity in back-to-back losses against Roxanne Modafferi (in which she suffered a torn knee early in the bout) and future champion Alexa Grasso.
But while her goal of being the youngest UFC champion did not come to fruition, she has strung together an absolutely blistering run in besting veterans Andrea Lee, Montana De La Rosa, Jessica Eye, Amanda Ribas, and Kaitlyn Cerminara. The streak had her on the cusp of title contention in 2024 when unfortunately medical issues forced her out of a bout with headliner with former champion Namajunas in July and has kept her out of the Octagon for more than a year come fight night. But while her absence couldn’t have come at a worse time, her comeback arguably couldn’t have come at a better one. Reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko recently vanquished another foe, and an impressive victory on Saturday for Barber would put restore her to the short list for potential title challengers for the belt she’s been chasing for years.
The intensity 👀@blanchfield_mma vs @MayceeBarber
[ #UFCVegas107 | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/khnXNDzPS2
— UFC (@ufc) May 30, 2025
When surveying the division, it is clear that the UFC’s plans for the title will determine the next move for the top-ranked women at flyweight. Should the promotion go with the dominant strawweight champion in Zhang Weili for the next title shot then Saturday’s winner could see a title eliminator against fellow surging dynamo Natalia Silva.
