(Video) UFC Star Raoni Barcelos Taken to Hospital After Mysteriously Collapsing Against Raul Rosas Jr

Raoni Barcelos was on his way to winning a decision on the scorecards before collapsing in the fifth round against Raul Rosas Jr.

(Video) UFC Star Raoni Barcelos Taken to Hospital After Mysteriously Collapsing Against Raul Rosas Jr

Raoni Barcelos collapsed in fifth round against Raul Rosas Jr (Image via UFC X Account/MMA Fighting)

UFC Vegas 121 took place in the Meta Apex featuring Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Jr., as the headliners. This bout had the largest age gap between two main event fighters in UFC history. In a shocking moment, the 39-year-old Brazilian veteran collapsed in the fifth round against Rosas Jr.

Barcelos did very well in the first four rounds of the bout. The Brazilian led in the significant strikes department, landing 127 strikes with an accuracy of 57 percent. He also landed 9 takedowns against Rosas Jr, and was winning the bout on the scorecards before collapsing in the fifth round.

Rosas Jr went for a takedown and landed it with an outside trip. However, Barcelos stopped moving after hitting the ground. Soon, the 21-year-old rising star realized that his opponent had collapsed and didn’t land anything major before signaling to referee Herb Dean that Barcelos was unable to continue.

Following the incident, the officials stretchered Barcelos and immediately transported him to the hospital. Raul Rosas Jr called for prayers during his octagon interview after his win. The fans, commentators and even the young rising star looked worried for the Brazilian veteran.

In his late 30s, Barcelos was on a five-fight winning streak. Back in 2023, he suffered disappointing losses to Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips. Many thought that his career would no longer progress due to his advancing age. Nevertheless, the veteran wasn’t done yet.

His five-fight winning streak saw him fraud-check rising star Payton Talbott and earn a win over former champion Cody Garbrandt. The resilient Brazilian may get sidelined for an extended period of time after his latest health scare.

The reason for the collapse is yet unknown at the moment. However, a corner team member of Barcelos has given an update about the UFC star.

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Coach updates fans after scary ending to Raoni Barcelos vs Raul Rosas Jr

The main event of UFC Vegas 121 had the entire MMA community become concerned for Raoni Barcelos. Something like this hasn’t happened in recent memory. Even Conor McGregor’s situation at UFC 329 was just a tear in his knees that didn’t render him unconscious.

Raoni Barcelos was transported to the hospital after the Raul Rosas Jr bout
Raoni Barcelos was transported to the hospital after the Raul Rosas Jr bout (Image via X/Screengrab)

Coach of the Brazilian star, Davi Ramos, has come out and given an update on the situation. The corner team member revealed that Barcelos woke up and the doctors were conducting further tests.

Hey guys, Raoni is doing well, everything’s okay so everyone can relax. He just went to get a CT scan, but everything is fine. We’re here waiting for him and hoping everything goes well. Everyone can stay calm. Thanks.

Davi Ramos said

The MMA community responded with caution and concern for the Brazilian veteran. The fans wished him a speedy recovery on X and other social media platforms.

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UFC reporter releases a statement on Raoni Barcelos situation

Raoni Barcelos collapsing at UFC Vegas 121 remains one of the scary moments in recent UFC history. Fans in the arena looked concerned, and so did the fans online.

Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Jr
Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Jr (Image via MMA Fighting)

Top UFC brass has yet to respond. Nevertheless, the promotion tasked bilingual reporter Evelyn Rodrigues to release an official statement to update the fans.

Raoni was transported to the hospital, he is with the team, he is also with the UFC staff, he will undergo some tests related to the head, what we call a CT scan here, anyway, to try to check what happened, both to the face and head but the doctor said it was precautionary, that is, out of caution, we don’t know exactly the diagnosis yet, what happened, but he is going to the hospital and we will have those answers soon.

Evelyn Rodrigues’ words translated to English

The reason for the collapse is not known at the moment. The promotion or Barcelos will likely update the MMA community when the time is right on their website.

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