Maycee Barber didn’t get much time to celebrate her UFC 299 win.
That’s because she ended up in the hospital to battle a nasty infection and eventually contracted pneumonia as well.
Barber revealed the news on Instagram, detailing her harrowing experience with a fever that developed due to the infection and how doctors struggled to discover what exactly was wrong. The 25-year-old flyweight prospect admitted there were moments when she felt like she might not recover as one day faded into the next while laying in her hospital bed.
“Following my fight, I spent nine days in the hospital being tested and treated for an infection that they thought were a mix of different things from Strep A to Staph,” Barber wrote. “Being in the hospital and still not having a true definitive answer while battling a 105 degree fever for days, having extremely low blood pressure, HR, and oxygen, was incredibly hard.
“Despite having multiple IV antibiotics and medications over the course of several days, they were unable to get my fever to drop, which eventually led to me developing pneumonia. It definitely wasn’t what I had planned and was honestly very scary at times. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure if I was going to be okay, but I know that whatever happens was meant to happen and that it’s all just another piece of the puzzle of life.”
Based on her post, Barber was admitted to the hospital on March 12, which was just three days after her win over Katlyn Cerminara in Miami.
It appears Barber is still dealing with the illness, although she hinted that she’s been released from the hospital after initially seeking treatment.
In her most recent performance, Barber picked up the biggest win of her career by taking out a former title challenger in Cerminara, which marked her sixth consecutive victory in a row.
The performance moved Barber one step closer to title contention, but it remains to be seen if this health scare may keep her out of action for an extended period of time or not.