Raoni Barcelos: 'I'm doing great' as Ariel Helwani calls his knockout terrifying

Barcelos thanked fans for their prayers after the knockout by Raul Rosas Jr., while Helwani said he had wondered whether Barcelos was breathing.

Raoni Barcelos says he is doing great, after he was carried out of the Octagon following his knockout defeat by Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC Vegas 121.

"Hey guys, I want to let you all know that I'm doing great and as soon as I can I will send you all a video! Thank you so much for everyone's love and prayers! I promised a great fight and I fulfilled what I promised. Thank you God and everyone who fought together with me inside and out of that cage," Barcelos wrote in a comment on UFC Brasil's Instagram.

On The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, Helwani described what it was like to watch. "That was terrifying. I won't lie. There was a part of me wondering, like, is he alive? Is he breathing? Is he moving?" he said. "Up until this point, obviously, as you know, dating back to 1993, no death in UFC history. No serious injury... No paralysis or anything like that. And, you know, sometimes it feels like we've been playing with fire, with missed weight cuts and whatnot. This seemed like the closest."

Helwani said there was still "no real word as to what happened", and that as of Sunday night Barcelos was still in hospital with no date set for his discharge. He had been able to walk, talk and interact on Sunday: Barcelos talking, walking and eating in hospital.

Barcelos was ahead three rounds to one on all three judges' cards going into the fifth, before Rosas stopped him at 1:38 of the final round: Rosas Jr. stops Barcelos as UFC says Barcelos is stable.

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