Fight Coverage
Main Event Spotlight | UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs Barber
Take A Closer Look At The Two Women Involved In Saturday’s Main Event In Las Vegas
UFC APEX hosts a pivotal flyweight main event on Saturday between No. 3 ranked contender Erin Blanchfield and No. 5 ranked Maycee Barber.
Blanchfield makes her return to the Octagon fresh off her most impressive win to date in November: a five-round unanimous decision over two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Barber is competing for the first time since March of last year, when she picked up a victory over perennial contender Katlyn Cerminara.
Order UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2
And that’s the first thing to look at when breaking down this matchup: their activity. On one side, you have Barber who, despite riding a six-fight win streak, hasn’t been in the Octagon in over 14 months, primarily due to a series of health scares that forced her to spend nine days in the hospital.
On the other side, you have Blanchfield, whose last two fights against Namajunas and recent title challenger Manon Fiorot went the full five rounds. This will also be Blanchfield’s third UFC main event, while Barber has never fought five rounds in the UFC. And for someone with an aggressive style like Barber, it’ll be interesting to see how her cardio adapts to five rounds, especially considering her long layoff.
Erin Blanchfield vs Maycee Barber | UFC Journey
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Erin Blanchfield vs Maycee Barber | UFC Journey
/
Statistically speaking, this matchup is very even, with both fighters extremely well-rounded and more than capable of winning fights standing or on the ground. Blanchfield’s bread and butter, however, is her grappling. She currently has the second-most submission wins in flyweight history, tapping out Jessica Andrade, Molly McCann and JJ Aldrich. Her submission game is versatile, as well. She finished those three opponents with three different techniques: rear-naked choke, guillotine choke and kimura.
FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X | On Threads
As dominant as she is on the ground, Blanchfield’s been quickly evolving her striking game. She currently boasts the fifth-highest strike rate among active 125ers at 5.24 significant strikes per minute. With an average fight length of 14 minutes and seven seconds, her opponents have to be ready to absorb upwards of 73 significant strikes when they’re locked in the Octagon with her.
Barber has found similar success on the feet throughout her UFC career. She now has the fifth-largest strike differential among active flyweights at +1.42. It’s also the eighth-largest differential in the division’s history.
During her six-fight win streak, Barber has compiled significant strike differentials of +18, +28, +36 and +46, many of those strikes coming in the clinch. Against Montana de la Rosa, Barber landed 40 significant strikes in the clinch, the second-most in a flyweight fight. Her 36 clinch strikes against Cerminara and 35 against Jessica Eye rank fourth and fifth all-time, respectively.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
As polished as her striking has become, if Barber feels like taking it to the ground, she often can. She’s secured 11 of her 22 takedown attempts as a flyweight. That 50 percent takedown accuracy is the third highest among active flyweights and the sixth highest in flyweight history. In her last outing against Cerminara, Barber landed all four of her takedown attempts en route to a unanimous decision win.
When you go down the stat line, again, it’s very close. Blanchfield lands slightly more strikes per minute (5.24 vs 4.36) but absorbs more, as well (4.21 vs 2.81). Their striking defense is virtually even, with Barber holding a slight edge in strike differential.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
In the grappling department, Blanchfield lands slightly more takedowns per 15 minutes (1.86 vs 1.37), while Barber is more efficient, with a much higher takedown accuracy (31.8% vs 44.4%). One glaring stat is Blanchfield’s exceptional 80 percent takedown defense, the fourth-highest all-time in the division. She’s only been in bottom position for 0.44 percent of her Octagon time, which ranks seventh-best among all active UFC fighters across all divisions.
MORE BLANCHFIELD: Blanchfield Aiming To Shape The Division's Future
While stats don’t always tell the whole story, they certainly suggest that Saturday night’s main event will be an incredibly close fight between Top 5 flyweights vying for a shot at champion Valentina Shevchenko.
So, what will be the deciding factor? Will Barber keep the fight standing and out-strike Blanchfield over 25 minutes? Or will Blanchfield’s experience in these big main event moments push her over the edge in Barber’s long-awaited return? The best part is we get to find out Saturday night.
UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Klein took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 31, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags