Raoni Barcelos shares video from hospital bed, vows to ‘come back stronger’ after terrifying UFC Vegas 121 loss

Raoni Barcelos posted a video from his hospital bed almost 48 hours after his devastating loss to Raul Rosas Jr. to confirm that he is “doing well” and is already anticipating a “stronger” comeback.

Barcelos had his five-fight winning streak snapped in the main event of UFC Vegas 121, which took place last Saturday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, after collapsing unconscious in the fifth round during their bantamweight clash. The 39-year-old veteran shared a short statement Monday morning to say he was “doing great” and thanked fans in a video post hours later.

“Hey everyone, how are you?” » said Barcelos in Portuguese. “I’m here to send you a message and let you know that I’m fine. I’m doing great and I’m taking all the tests here at the hospital. This is just hospital protocol, so I have to take them all. That’s it, guys. I want to thank everyone for all the prayers and all the kind messages. Please keep sending that positive energy.”

Barcelos was ahead in the scorecards and probably three minutes away from a decisive victory – had they gone the distance – before passing out in the clinch and needing immediate medical assistance, before being transported to a local hospital. Rosas Jr. was declared the winner by technical knockout.

“We’re moving on to the next one,” Barcelos said. “I gave everything I had in that cage. Like I said before, I only left that cage if I was evacuated, and that’s exactly how it happened. That wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I wanted to become champion and walk away with the victory, but God knows everything. So we move on to the next one.

“I’m here, I’m fine. I’ll come back and I’ll come back stronger. And I want to send you all a kiss and a big hug. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you and let’s keep moving forward!”