Raoni Barcelos is “doing great” despite the frightening scenes in his UFC Vegas 121 main event loss to Raul Rosas Jr. this past weekend at the Meta APEX.
The 39-year-old bantamweight was ahead in the scorecards going into the final round and blacked out and collapsed unconscious for apparent no reason with less than three minutes left in the fight.
The UFC and Barcelos’ team have yet to reveal what caused the incident, but the veteran fighter shared his first words in the comment section of a UFC Brasil post on social media.
“Hey everyone, I just want to let you all know that I’m doing great, and as soon as I can, I’ll send a video to all of you,” Barcelos wrote in Portuguese. “Thank you so much for everyone’s love, support, and prayers! I promised a great fight, and I delivered on that promise. Thank God, and thank you to everyone who fought alongside me, both inside and outside that cage.”
On Sunday, just hours after the fight, Barcelos’ head coach Davi Ramos released a statement to comfort fans, saying the athlete was “conscious” and under medical care in Las Vegas.
“Raoni is doing well,” Ramos said Sunday. “He has all his senses, he’s moving his leg, his arm, his hand, he’s conscious, he’s talking, everything is fine with him. He’s undergoing some tests, and pretty soon he’ll be here to talk to you guys.”
“I just wanted to let you know so you can all stay calm,” he continued. “Keep praying for him. He’s undergoing all the tests that are standard in a situation like this. He’ll have to rest because of what happened, but God willing, everything will be fine. He’ll be here with us soon and he’ll be talking to you guys. Thank you to everyone who’s been sending messages, positive energy, praying and keeping all of us in your prayers.”
