Raul Rosas Jr. recalls terrifying UFC Vegas 121 finish of Raoni Barcelos: I didnt
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos ended in a scary sight at UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday.
By night's end, Rosas, 21, overcame his veteran counterpart to win his first UFC main event via a fifth-round knockout. What was officially ruled a slam knockout, however, quickly became much more harrowing, as Barcelos seemingly lost consciousness mid-takedown before even hitting the mat. Barcelos, 39, was ultimately taken out of the Octagon on a stretcher and transported out of the arena to the hospital. He’s been confirmed as "stable, alert and responsive, with full movement," per the UFC.
Speaking on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," Rosas recalled his initial reaction to the grim scene.
"For a second, I didn't know if he died, to be honest," Rosas told Uncrowned. "But when I calmed myself down a little bit and was just looking, I checked if he was breathing and saw his body breathing, so I was like, 'OK, he's not dead, for sure.'
"That made me feel a little bit more peaceful, but still, I was just sitting there praying. I did a quick prayer and hoped that he woke up and went back to his family."
Death was the biggest — and worst-case — concern for virtually every viewer on Saturday following the frightening end to one of the year's best fights. Rosas admitted that it put a damper on the moment, despite extending his UFC win streak to six.
"It was scary because of that, but to be honest, yes, I was happy about my performance on the side," Rosas said. "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 we gave it our all and we were willing to do whatever to get our hand raised that night."
Rosas said he's since messaged Barcelos to see how he's doing but hasn't received a response. Barcelos reportedly regained consciousness that night and was able to move his extremities. Statements have been released from Barcelos and his coaches since.
It was a grueling five-round affair for the bantamweight contenders, and Rosas is still as confused as everyone else about what caused the fight to end.
"From my side, I didn't hit his head," Rosas said. "You can see that on the video, and I even watched [the replay]. I want to see if he remembers and what he can say about that. He's the one that knows better than anybody, if he remembers.
"I'm not going to lie, the fourth round, I caught my breath a little bit because I was chilling. He was on my back, trying to finish me [with a submission] so hard. He was squeezing the whole time, and when I was watching the fight [replay], when he was on my back, he's gasping for air because he didn't choke me. When he goes back to the corner from the fourth to the fifth [round], he was a little bit wobbly from tiredness. I felt the same thing, but I rested more than him on the floor. He did a lot of work on the floor."
Rosas knew he had to apply pressure and up his pace heading into the final round, and because of that, he thinks Barcelos' body may have shut down from pure exhaustion.
If there was a strike worth noting, Rosas recalled landing a light punch to the head before he dove in for the fight-ending takedown.
"I don't know if that could have done it, because when I went in for the takedown — because my corner told me, 'Let's try that.' When I got ahold of him, he felt so weak, like his body was done. I got even more wind when I went up for the legs, and I got a victory feeling, like I already won the fight. I took him down, and I just knew I got him and would finish him there.
"It was unfortunate that when he went down he was out, but I think he could have been out before that. ... Now that I see he was out before that, I'm like, 'S***. Maybe that's why he felt so weak,' because he was already out."
Making matters more frustrating for Barcelos, the Brazilian was on track to win a decision regardless of whether he won the final round. All three cageside judges had him well ahead prior to the stoppage.
Rosas acknowledged that he felt the pressure mounting after Barcelos' particularly dominant fourth frame, which one judge even scored as a 10-8 round for Barcelos.
"I was down going into the fifth, but in my head it was different. I'm fighting, so I'm not watching it from the outside. My mind had a different scoring," Rosas said.
"I honestly thought I was losing the fight going into the fifth for a different reason, because I thought Round 1 I took, Round 2 could have gone either way. I knew three and four were his rounds, so we could potentially be 2-2, but I was like, 'Either way, if we go to the judges, he's probably going to win because the fourth round was a 10-8.' I knew it was all his round. He did all the work. That's why, in my head, I had to finish him.
"I didn't want to have that doubt if I won or lost, so I just knew in the fifth I had to go for the finish."
For Rosas (13-1), the win puts him at 7-1 inside the UFC. It also serves as his second victory over ranked opposition since joining the promotion in late 2018 at just 18 years old.