Raoni Barcelos says retirement 'hasn't been ruled out' as he waits for diagnosis
Raoni Barcelos is serving a six-month suspension with no head contact and a monitored heart rate after collapsing during his UFC Vegas 121 main event against Raul Rosas Jr.
Raoni Barcelos still does not know what caused his body to shut down during his UFC Vegas 121 main event with Raul Rosas Jr., and he has admitted retirement remains a possibility while he waits for a diagnosis.
The 39-year-old was ahead on the scorecards against his much younger opponent at the Meta APEX when he lost consciousness for no apparent reason. He was taken straight to a Level 1 trauma centre. Close to three weeks on, he says he is getting better every day, but doctors have not been able to identify the cause.
Barcelos described the moment he fell ill: “I fell ill, and I felt my whole body really starting to go numb.” He said he remembers nothing more until he came round in the ambulance and asked his father what had happened.
He had another MRI scan on Monday and is waiting for the results. He is also serving a six-month suspension during which he cannot take any shots to the head, and his heart rate must stay within a healthy range. He said his heart is doing well and he is no longer taking any medication after an aggressive course of treatment early on.
The UFC flew his family from Rio de Janeiro to Las Vegas to stay with him while he undergoes further tests. Barcelos visits the UFC Performance Institute every day for physical therapy and neurological testing.
Asked about retirement, Barcelos said: “It hasn’t been ruled out.” He stressed it is too soon to decide and added: “But I want to make it clear right now that I don’t want to stop.” He said his father, Davi Ramos, Andre Felipe and Glover Teixeira had all advised him to leave that decision until further down the road.
The veteran of 28 professional fights, 16 of them in the UFC, said UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell followed the ambulance to the hospital and told him there that he had won a bonus. He has since thanked UFC CEO Dana White in person at the Contender Series, and said White told him he would be back before he knew it.
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