The UFC Vegas 121 main event clash between Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Jr. ended in frightening fashion in the fifth round when the Brazilian bantamweight lost consciousness for no apparent reason during a clinch exchange. Barcelos was rushed to hospital for tests after the fight, and his head coach Davi Ramos shared on social media that he had now come to his senses.
The UFC released a statement hours after the incident to confirm that Barcelos was transported to a Level 1 trauma center for evaluation and was “stable, alert and responsive, with full movement” after a “full scan and evaluation” was performed.
“Raoni is fine,” Ramos said in Portuguese in a video posted on social media. “He has all his senses, he moves his leg, his arm, his hand, he is conscious, he speaks, everything is fine with him. He is undergoing tests and soon he will be here to talk to you.”
“I just wanted to let you know so you can all stay calm,” he continued. “Continue to pray for him. He is going through all the tests that are standard in a situation like this. He will have to rest because of what happened, but God willing he will be okay. He will be here with us soon and talking to you. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages, positive energy, prayed and kept us all in your prayers.”
Barcelos was ahead in all three scorecards heading into the final round, including a 10-8 in the fourth round for one of the judges, meaning he was just over three minutes away from a decisive victory. The loss ended what would be his sixth straight UFC win.
“We had a great fight,” Ramos said. “We play a sport that unfortunately we cannot predict, but we know for sure that we did our best. Raoni is a warrior, a phenomenal fighter, and he showed it to you with all the technique, all the skills and the heart that he has. He showed everything about where he wants to go, where we all want to go, with all the work we have done. Congratulations to him and thank you everyone for the messages. Keep praying for him, and soon he will be back here with us. to put on another great show.
Gn sports
