For Maycee Barber at UFC 323, it wasn’t the damage from her opponent that lingered most after the final bell. It was what she believed the referee had ignored. Earlier this year, she collapsed backstage minutes before her scheduled main event with Erin Blanchfield, turning a six-fight win streak into a question mark overnight.

At UFC 323, the flyweight contender finally steadied the ship with a unanimous decision win over Karine Silva . Yet the victory came with an uncomfortable footnote. Midway through the fight, Barber absorbed an illegal upkick while grounded, a moment that visibly staggered her, and referee Mark Smith allowed the fight to continue without a point deduction.

So what happens when survival replaces fairness in the cage? According to Barber, that’s when frustrati

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