Following her cancelled UFC main event against Maycee Barber, Erin Blanchfield has confirmed she will receive full compensation despite not stepping into the octagon.
Blanchfield revealed in a recent interview on the Helwani Show that UFC executive Hunter Campbell personally assured her she would receive both her show money and win bonus for the event.
“Hunter came into the room. He told me that he texted me too that I’ll be paid everything with my show and win,” Blanchfield stated.
Additionally, because Barber missed weight at the official weigh-ins prior to the event, Blanchfield will also receive 20% of Barber’s show money as per standard UFC protocol for weight miss penalties.
The bout, which was scheduled to headline last Saturday’s UFC card at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, was called off minutes before the stars were set to walk out when Barber was not medically cleared to compete.
Despite the financial consolation, Blanchfield expressed mixed emotions about the situation.
“It’s like bittersweet because it’s like at least I was able to get paid. So it’s like I still be able to take care of myself in that sense,” she explained. “You know, like it is a job and getting paid is important. But it is a passion job for me.”
The 25-year-old flyweight contender, who hasn’t competed since her victory over former champion Rose Namajunas last November, admitted the cancellation has been emotionally difficult.
“I don’t think I realized up until like, you know, yesterday and today, like, how sad it is,” Blanchfield shared. “I’m like so jealous that I wasn’t able to fight or even like taking out my braids. It’s just everything was so weird like having doing that without like having fought. So yeah, that was pretty upsetting.”
The cancellation marks an unexpected setback for Blanchfield, who had been looking to build momentum toward a potential title shot in the women’s flyweight division. There are rumors floating around that she made it out of the weekend with $60,000. It’s unclear if that figure involves the 20% from Barber, according to sources it was accidentally revealed by her managers.
