Raul Rosas Jr. says Raoni Barcelos collapse scared him: 'Usually, one shot puts you out'

Rosas said he is glad Barcelos is back home with his family after the Brazilian was taken to hospital from their UFC Vegas 121 main event in September.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Thu 12 Nov, 20:40 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Raul Rosas Jr. and Raoni Barcelos pose at the UFC Vegas 121 weigh-in — Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Raul Rosas Jr. has said he was scared when Raoni Barcelos collapsed at the end of their UFC Vegas 121 main event, and that he is glad Barcelos is now back home with his family.

Rosas won by knockout at 1:38 of the fifth round. Barcelos, 39, was taken out of the Octagon on a stretcher and to hospital.

Speaking in an interview with Jorge Masvidal, quoted by MMA Fighting, Rosas said he had not looked too deeply into what caused it. "I just know that it was probably some brain swelling or something deep," he said. "I just hope that he's good now, his health is good, and everything's good with him and his family."

He added: "I thought I killed him, to be honest, and I was scared because I was like, 'F*ck,' right? I didn't know how I was going to feel after that because at the end of the day, yeah, we want to f*ck each other up and shit, but I want both of us to go back to our families. After everything I was a little bit worried, but now I'm glad that he's back home, he's with his family, and everything's good."

"I was just scared because I know they also had to, like, bring him back to life," Rosas said. "That was like, f*ck. It's hard to see that in the sport, in MMA, because we have small gloves. Usually, one shot puts you out."

He went on: "In boxing, you've seen some people die because it's big gloves, so you can take more punishment. It's crazy how the sport is. We are really risking our lives every time we step in there."

Glover Teixeira, who was in Barcelos's corner, has said tests found swelling on his brain. Barcelos has since said retirement "hasn't been ruled out" while he waits for a diagnosis, but that he does not want to stop.

Rosas, 22, is 13-1 and on a six-fight winning run. "Raoni doesn't get the respect that he deserves," he said of Barcelos. "How good he is. I knew his grappling's high level, his wrestling, he's got a whole lot of experience."

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Raul Rosas Jr.Raoni Barcelos