Raoni Barcelos Released From Hospital After Scary UFC Fight Night Collapse, Dana White Breaks Silenc
Raoni Barcelos is out of the hospital after the scary finish to his fight with Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC Fight Night Vegas this weekend. Barcelos shared the news late Tuesday night on his Instagram story, posting a photo with his family three days after the fight.
“Discharged and with my family. I want to thank everyone for the love, prayers, and positive vibrations,” Barcelos wrote.
The bantamweight main event took place Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Early in the fifth round, Rosas took Barcelos down with an inside trip, and Barcelos lost consciousness during the takedown. The fight was stopped at 1:38 of the round and ruled a knockout win for Rosas.
Barcelos was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards before the stoppage. He remained unconscious for several minutes as a commission doctor checked his pulse inside the cage. Medical staff then took him out of the arena on a stretcher, and he was transported to a local trauma center.
After the fight, Rosas asked fans to pray for his opponent and called Barcelos “a warrior.” The 21-year-old improved to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the UFC, extending his winning streak to six fights. Barcelos fell to 22-6 overall and 11-4 in the UFC.
Barcelos gave fans his first update in a video from the hospital, where he was alert and speaking.
“I’m doing really well and undergoing all the exams here at the hospital,” Barcelos said.
He also said he plans to come back stronger. His head coach, Davi Ramos, said doctors had ruled out two possible causes, though the reason he lost consciousness is still not known.
“He did not have a stroke; it wasn’t a heart attack, nothing like that, but we still don’t have an explanation for what happened,” Ramos said.
Dana White weighs in on Raoni Barcelos incident
No official diagnosis has been made public. UFC CEO Dana White was not at UFC Vegas 121. He spoke about the incident for the first time after Tuesday night’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.
“Thank God, he’s doing well,” White said. “He’s up walking around, talking.”
White said the UFC’s medical procedures worked the way they were designed to.
“It goes right in line with everything I always talk about and what we do. All the pre-fight medicals were triple-checked; everything was good. There were six doctors here that night, three ambulances; he was taken straight to the trauma center, not to Valley. Everything was done the right way, and the outcome was good.”
Barcelos has made it clear he intends to return to training and fighting. White said that is not something he is considering right now.
“Not even thinking about that,” White said. “Who gives a s***? As long as the kid is OK.”
There is no timeline for when Barcelos could return to training.
Related Headlines