“Frustrating; it’s been very frustrating,” she said, attempting to sum up her experiences since collecting her sixth consecutive victory in a word or two. “It’s taught me a lot of patience, but honestly, it’s just been like a thing where I think the people that have had to have the most patience are the people around me because I put them through hell.”
Her eyes glanced at the back of the room, where her boyfriend Oscar Herrera, her coach Guilherme Faria, and her training partner and close friend Valesca Machado, better known by her fighting name, Tina Black, all stood in rapt attention.
“I would say and I think everyone else in my life will say that it has made me a very angry, very bitter person, and I think after this fight and after this win, it will change a lot,” Barber added, her tone downshifting, the expression on her face sinking a little, like admitting this saga has changed her demeanor was something she previously hadn’t openly acknowledged. “I have so much to prove and so much pent up that I just want to let it out. Let me get through this one because I haven’t been able to feel that feeling.
“I think it has made me angry that I haven’t been able to let it go. All the struggle has made me feel like, ‘I just wanna do what I love!’ you know?”
The tears returned, but so did the smile on Barber’s face.
