Raul Rosas Jr. feared the worst at UFC Vegas 121.
The young star collided with the tried-and-tested Raoni Barcelos in the headlining bout of Saturday’s event. After a war that went deep into the final round, Rosas Jr. came out on top, under bizarre circumstances. Barcelos seemingly lost consciousness through minimal contact, falling to the canvas, and being stretchered out of the octagon with doctors checking his pulse. Many believe the pace of the fight was too much for the aging bantamweight, but Rosas Jr. is just glad that his opponent is in good health.
Positive updates have surfaced in the days following UFC Vegas 121. Barcelos is reportedly in good spirits, and while pleased with the news, Rosas Jr. initially believed the Brazilian was dead.
“I’m happy to know that Raoni Barcelos is back up and is breathing, because at the end of the day, we’ve all got a family to go back to,” Rosas Jr. said. “I don’t know if he has kids or not, but either way, he has a lot of people that love him. He’s a really great person. So, I’m happy about that.”
Rosas Jr. continued.
“For a second, I didn’t know if he died, to be honest. But then, when I calmed myself down a little bit and I was looking, I checked if he was breathing, and I saw his body breathing. So I was like, he’s not dead for sure. That made me feel a little bit more peaceful. I was just sitting there praying; I just did a quick prayer and hoped that he woke up and went back to his family.”
With the scary prospect of a UFC death behind him, Raul Rosas Jr. revealed that he was happy with his own performance. A tough win against a crafty veteran, the fight gave Rosas Jr. confidence about his chances against other elite opponents.
“It was scary because of that, but to be honest, yes, I was happy about my performance on the side… I was happy to take the fight because I was like, man, if I can’t beat him, then I can’t be champion. I need a challenge like this. This is exactly what I needed to prove to myself that I belong here.”