Raoni Barcelos starred in one of the most violent fights of 2026, but the result was far from pleasant. In the main fight of UFC Vegas 121, held this Saturday (26), the Brazilian faced Raul Rosas Jr and impressed in action, but was surprised by a takedown, fell badly and ended up being knocked out in the fifth round, apparently due to injury. The incident was so strange and traumatic that the veteran passed out immediately and only regained consciousness after a long time. Soon, the Rio native was carried out of the octagon on a stretcher and taken to the hospital for examinations.
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In his first UFC main event, 39-year-old Raoni had the misfortune of seeing his five-fight winning streak come to an end. On the other hand, 21-year-old Raul showed grit by headlining a UFC event for the first time and secured his sixth consecutive victory. Furthermore, due to the result, the Brazilian is likely to lose his eighth position in the bantamweight rankings (up to 61,2 kg) to the American.
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Raul started the fight more aggressively. Undeterred, Raoni also attacked. After getting the worst of it in an exchange of punches, Raoni took Raul down, but couldn't control him on the ground. Standing, the fighters continued exchanging blows openly. Quicker, Raul hurt Raoni with his straight punches. Again, Raoni took Raul down, who was more active from the bottom and got back to his feet. In the striking exchanges, Raoni landed a good cross, a powerful elbow to Raul and tried for another takedown, but couldn't succeed. Recovering from the scare, Raul landed a good sequence of punches on Raoni.
In the second round, Raoni startled Raul by throwing an uppercut. In response, Raul landed a good straight punch on Raoni. Confident, Raoni landed a powerful punch to Raul's midsection. In the striking exchanges, the fighters landed powerful blows and traded good moments. Raoni even took Raul down, but couldn't control him on the ground. Standing, Raoni landed good straight punches on Raul, but was shaken when he received the same blow. The frenetic pace continued, with Raoni taking Raul down and driving him to the cage. A warrior, Raul reversed the position and continued exchanging blows with everything he had with Raoni. In the final seconds, Raul again bothered Raoni with his punches, who responded with good straight punches.
In the third round, Raul returned more aggressively and landed good straight punches on Raoni, who responded with the same blows. With the fight balanced, Raoni executed a beautiful takedown on Raul. On Raul's back, Raoni became careless and lost position. On top, Raul applied a powerful ground and pound on Raoni. A fighter, Raoni got up, but received hard blows from Raul. Without giving up, Raoni hunted Raul and launched powerful straight punches and a beautiful elbow strike. In the final seconds, Raoni executed a beautiful takedown on Raul, took his back and delivered precise punches.
In the fourth round, the pace didn't slow down. Raoni landed some good straight punches on Raul, creating danger. After losing his balance with a cross from Raul, Raoni took him down, but lost the position. However, Raoni took Raul down again and started throwing punches. On Raul's back, Raoni controlled him, landed punches, and went for a rear-naked choke. Comfortable, Raoni continued throwing punches at Raul, who defended as best he could.
In the fifth round, the athletes continued attacking each other with everything they had. Raul landed a flying knee on Raoni, which took him down. From underneath, Raul attacked Raoni and got back to his feet. Again, Raul launched a flying knee at Raoni and rocked him with his punches. In turn, Raoni also landed powerful punches on Raul. Surprisingly, Raul took Raoni down, who fell unresponsive in a frightening scene.
Raoni Barcelos lost to Raul Rosas Jr. in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC
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UFC Vegas 121 results
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Raul Rosas Jr. defeated Raoni Barcelos by knockout (injury) at 1:38 of round 5.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Ailin Perez defeated Norma Dumont by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light heavyweight (up to 92,9 kg): Luis Hernandez defeated Sedriques Dumas by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:57 of round 1.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Ilimbek Akylbek defeated Mahammadali Osmanli by disqualification (illegal knee strike with opponent on the ground) at 2:19 of Round 1 – TUF Final
Strawweight (up to 52,1 kg): Tina Black defeated Melissa Amaya by technical knockout (punches) at 3:19 of round 2 – TUF Finale
PRELIMINARY CARD
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Brady Hiestand defeated Rinya Nakamura by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:07 of round 2.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Rodolfo Vieira defeated Robert Bryczek by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Light Heavyweight (up to 92,9 kg): Christian Edwards defeated Rodolfo Bellato by technical knockout (left cross and punches) at 1:47 of round 3.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Elves Brener defeated Josiah Harrell by knockout (right cross) at 4:14 of round 1.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Montel Jackson defeated Ricky Simon by technical knockout (punches) at 2:39 of round 2.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Alateng Heili defeated John Castaneda by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Strawweight (up to 52,1 kg): Yazmin Jauregui defeated Vanessa Demopoulos by technical knockout (punches) at 1:2 of round 1.
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