Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos closed out the final day in a frightening spectacle at UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday.
At the end of the night, Rosas overcame his 21-year-old veteran to score a fifth-round knockout in his first UFC event. What he officially ruled as a slam slam, however, quickly became much more of a hiccup, as Barcelos lost his sense of control as the middle take-them before even hitting the mat. Barcelos, 39, was finally taken out of the Octagon on a stretcher and taken from the arena to the hospital. He was confirmed as “stable, alert and responsive, with full range of motion” by the UFC.
Advertisement
Speaking on Monday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Rosas recalled her initial reaction to the sad show.
“For another, I don’t know if he’s dead, to be honest,” said Rosas, crowned. “But when I calmed down a little bit and I just looked, I checked if he was breathing and I saw the body breathing, so I was like, ‘Okay, he’s definitely not dead.’
“That made me feel a little calmer, but I was still sitting there praying. I was doing a quick prayer and hoping to wake up and go back to my family.”
The death was the biggest — and worst — concern of almost every viewer on Saturday following the terrible end of one of the best fights of the year. Rosas admitted it put a damper on him at the moment, despite extending his UFC win streak to six.
Advertisement
“It was scary because of that, but to be honest, I was actually happy about my performance on the part,” said Rosas. “He’ll probably feel sad about the result, but I’m pretty sure he’ll feel happy about the fight because we both went out there and gave it our all and whatever we wanted to do, the hand was raised that night.”
Rosas said that he will see from the message of Barcelo how he is doing, but he did not receive an answer. Barcelus reportedly recovered at night and was able to move his extremities. Barcelos and his coaches have since been released.
It was a heavy five-round affair for the bantamweight contest, and Rosas is still as confused as everyone else about what made the fight end.
“I didn’t hit the side of my head,” Rosas said. “You can see that in the video, and I also watched” [the replay]. I want to see if he remembers and what he can say about it. Here is one who knows better than anyone, if he remembers.
Advertisement
“I’m not going to lie, in the fourth round, I took a little breath because I was cooling down. He was on my back, trying to finish me off. [with a submission] so hard He was crushing all the time, and when I was watching the fight [replay]when he was supine, he gasped for air, which did not suffocate me. when he goes to the corner from the fourth to the fifth [round]He was a little firm and weak. I felt the same, but rested more on the ground. He did a lot of work on the floor.”
Rosas knew he had to apply pressure and pace in the final round, and because of that, Barcelo’s body could shut down from sheer exhaustion.
Advertisement
If the strike is worth noting, Rosas recalled landing a light punch to the head before dove in for a takedown to end the fight.
“I don’t know if he could do it, because I went in for a takedown – because my corner told me, Let’s try.” When he had let him go, he felt so weak that he became a body. I got more wind when I got to my feet, and I felt victorious, like I had already won the battle. and I took him, and knew him as I knew him, and finished there.
“It was unfortunate that when he went down, he went out, but he could have thought before that. … Now I see what happened before, I’m like, ‘S***.’ Perhaps that’s why he felt weak, because he already fell.”
Making matters more frustrating for Barcelo, the Brazilian was on track to decide whether to win the final round. All three cage judges are well ahead of him before stopping.
The health of Raoni Barcelo has generated immense concern for Raoni Barcelo.
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
Rosas acknowledged that he felt the pressure after Barcelos’ first dominant in the fourth frame, which one judges even as Barcelos scored 10-8 round.
Advertisement
“I was going down to the Fifth, but it was different in my head. I was fighting, so I wasn’t watching from the outside. My mind had other scorpions,” said Rosas.
“I honestly thought I was going to lose the fight in the fifth for another reason, because I thought I took round 1, and round 2 could have gone either way. I knew it was rounds three and four, so I could be 2-2, but I was like, ‘Or, if we go to the judges, he’s probably going to win because the fourth round was 10-8.’ I knew it was all around him. He did all the work. That’s why I had to finish it in my head.
“I didn’t want to have that doubt if I won or lost, so I just knew I was going to the finish line in the fifth.”
For Rosas (13-1), the win puts him at 7-1 within the UFC. It also serves as his second victory against the opposition since joining the promotion in late 2018 at the age of 18.