The fighter didn’t just suffer a loss at UFC 246, but Brett Okamoto of ESPN, citing Barber’s father Bucky, reports that Barber suffered a complete ACL tear during the bout. Barber could be seen grabbing her knee for a good portion of the fight and even a doctor checked on the injured fighter’s knee in between rounds two and three.
Okamoto also reports that Barber could be out for nine months, but a better time frame should be known after the fighter gets surgery in the next few days.
Bucky believes that Barber suffered the injury just a few seconds into the fight against Modafferi, but the exact moment the injury occurred hasn't been confirmed at this time.
"We think she injured it in the first 10 seconds," Barber said. "She stepped on Roxanne's foot as she backed up and felt a pop. You can see the knee give out on the side. She went back and started fighting and trying to do things and I noticed she was flat in a way I've never seen before."
Barber suffered the first loss of her professional MMA career at the event, as she had won eight straight before the defeat at UFC 246.
