When Barber sat up, she said she heard four pops in her knee. She would later learn that was the sound of a partial tear in her lateral collateral ligament and knew she needed to push for the finish. Alternating between elbows and punches, Barber kept the brutal pressure on Cifers until the referee stopped the fight.
Barber laments how long it took for the stoppage to come only because she has gotten to know Cifers since then. She called Cifers a “great person” and the two exchange text messages when they see one another fight. Ultimately, though, Barber got her debut win and introduced herself to the MMA world.
“It definitely wasn’t a blur,” Barber said. “I try to take everything in but, at the same time, sometimes I don’t. But yeah, it was good.”
The finish was Barber’s fifth of her career and set her on the path that led her to her upcoming matchup against the experienced Roxanne Modafferi. It’s Barber’s first top 10 opponent, and even though the fighter she was in Denver has completely evolved, it’s still a memory that holds a lot of weight for “The Future.”
“That was super bloody and definitely a finish that I’ll never forget,” Barber said.
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