Maycee Barber's Comeback Hit With Another Delay Ahead of UFC 335
Maycee Barber’s planned return is off the UFC 335 card, and Carli Judice is left waiting for the biggest opportunity of her career. The women’s flyweight bout had been positioned as Barber’s comeback test, but news broke Saturday, November 7, that she was out of the December 12 matchup in Las Vegas. No reason was given for the withdrawal.
The reported plan is to reschedule Barber-Judice rather than find Judice a new opponent. So the fight is postponed, not reported canceled, but UFC 335 is now down one bout. For fans following the wider fight calendar, including the boxing schedule tonight, the question around Barber is bigger than one date: when does her return finally happen, and what will the division look like when it does?
Barber’s comeback has to wait
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reported Barber’s withdrawal after an initial post from realkevink on X. The matchup with Judice had been booked in mid-October as Barber’s first fight since March, when Alexa Grasso stopped her with a first-round punch knockout at UFC Seattle.
That finish was one of the most shocking moments of Barber’s career. The knockout left her visibly compromised and prompted initial fears of serious neurological injury. Those were fears, not a diagnosis, and no reason has been provided for her latest withdrawal. The facts available are straightforward: Barber is out of UFC 335, and the UFC reportedly intends to rebook the fight.
The timing stings because this was supposed to be the start of a fresh chapter. Barber had spent years building toward the top of the flyweight division. Now the return that could have helped answer questions about her standing has been pushed back again.
The card still has a major headliner: Charles Oliveira meets Diego Lopes in a BMF title fight. Alex Pereira versus Sergei Pavlovich is set as the five-round co-main event. But Barber-Judice had its own stakes, a contender facing a rising athlete with momentum of her own.
From a six-fight run to a difficult setback
Before the Grasso loss, Barber was on a six-fight winning streak that included a victory over Karine Silva. She was closing in on a title shot, and her run had put her among the division’s established names.
Her momentum, however, had already been affected by various significant health issues. There is no reported explanation connecting those earlier challenges to this withdrawal, so the details stay just that: health issues, unspecified.
Barber has fought only once per year for the last three years. That limited activity makes each fight especially important to her trajectory. A single result can shift the conversation quickly, whether it is about rebuilding momentum, re-entering the title picture, or proving that a setback has not changed a fighter’s ceiling.
The division has also moved on while Barber has been away. Natalia Silva won the vacant flyweight title at UFC 332 earlier this month. That changes the landscape at the top and gives the weight class a new champion. Barber’s route back toward the title picture now runs through a different competitive moment than the one she left behind.
The stakes for Barber and the division
A win over Judice would have given Barber a chance to re-establish herself as a top name at 125 pounds. It would not erase the Grasso defeat, but it would have shown that she could return, compete, and get back to winning against a dangerous rising contender.
A loss, by contrast, could have marked a clear shift in Barber’s career. Judice is not simply a name on a comeback card. She has put together a four-fight winning streak and was looking at her first major opportunity to take out an established contender. The matchup offered a direct test of where both women stand.
The UFC’s reported choice to rebook rather than replace Barber with another opponent for Judice suggests the pairing still makes sense to the promotion. It is a logical next step for both fighters: Barber gets an opportunity to reassert herself, while Judice gets the chance to show her winning run can carry her into the contender conversation.
That is the positive angle in a frustrating update. The reported plan points toward a delayed meeting, not a dead matchup. Still, there is no new date yet, and until one is announced, both fighters are left in a holding pattern.
Barber interviewed post-fight with a UFC mic. Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
Judice was ready for her biggest test
Carli Judice arrives at this postponement with real momentum. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 7-2 and has won four straight since losing her UFC debut in June 2024. Her recent stoppage victories came against Jeisla Chaves, Nicolle Caliari, and Yuneisy Duben.
That run earned Judice a high-profile chance to face a recognized contender. It was the clearest opportunity yet to turn a string of wins into a statement about her place in the division. Instead, she waits alongside Barber for a new date.
The delay does not change the nature of the matchup. If it is rescheduled as reported, Judice will still have the same challenge in front of her: take down a fighter who has been close to the title picture and prove that her recent surge is no fluke. Barber, meanwhile, will still have to show she can turn the page from the Grasso knockout and reclaim her position.
Barber getting her hands wrapped backstage ahead of a fight. Credit: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via BJPenn.com.
What happens next?
The immediate answer is simple: Barber-Judice is off UFC 335, and no rescheduled date has been announced. The reported intention to bring the bout back gives fans a reason to keep watching for an update, but it does not confirm when either fighter will compete next.
For Barber, the central question remains whether she can rebuild after the March knockout and return to the form that carried her through six consecutive wins. For Judice, the test is delayed, not diminished. She has earned the chance to face a major name, and now she has to stay ready for the moment it arrives.
UFC 335 still has Oliveira versus Lopes for the BMF title and Pereira versus Pavlovich in a five-round co-main event. Barber’s absence removes a compelling flyweight clash from that lineup, but the bigger story is the uncertainty around her comeback. The next booking will matter. The performance after it could matter even more.
Keep an eye out for the rescheduled date, and follow global combat sports with FIGHT.TV. For about $2 a month, the annual plan is $19.95, with combat sports coverage from around the world. Explore FIGHT.TV for event listings. Catch bare knuckle live, find a live boxing stream, and stay close to the next live fight stream. Barber’s return is still waiting. The next chapter is yet to be written.
