While Raul Rosas Jr. won an absolute war against Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 121, the post-fight discussion quickly shifted to the 39-year-old veteran’s bizarre knockout. For those unfamiliar with what happened, Rosas started clinching with Barcelos along the cage in the fifth round. Rosas managed to sweep one of Barcelos’ legs and drag him to the canvas, but something appeared to go wrong for the veteran on the way down.
As Barcelos hit the canvas, he appeared to lose consciousness from the impact. Rosas immediately noticed that Barcelos’ arms had gone limp and backed away from throwing any more ground-and-pound.
The scene inside the UFC Apex quickly became uncomfortable. Barcelos remained motionless as medical personnel rushed into the Octagon. Replays offered little clarity, although one angle appeared to show Rosas’ head potentially catching Barcelos on the chin as they hit the canvas.
Barcelos was eventually carried out on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital, where he is reportedly awake and conscious. Davi Ramos, a member of Barcelos’ team, and the UFC have provided updates on his condition. However, the exact reason for him going down like that remains unknown.
Dr. Brian Sutterer Reveals What May Have Caused Raoni Barcelos’ UFC Vegas 121 Collapse
That’s where Dr. Brian Sutterer, MD, offered some insight on his official YouTube channel. For those unfamiliar with Sutterer, he is a board-certified sports medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation physician who completed his residency and sports medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic.
Sutterer has also built a large online following by breaking down high-profile sports injuries, including Conor McGregor’s ACL tear at UFC 329, in easy-to-understand terms. Importantly, Sutterer’s explanation was not a diagnosis. He did not have access to Barcelos’ medical reports, so his analysis was based entirely on publicly available footage.
View this post on Instagram
ALSO READ: Who’s on Justin Gaethje’s Mount Rushmore of MMA? Reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Shares His Picks
He explained that this was not a usual knockout. “I think if you say unconscious athlete, the immediate assumption is that this was a knockout, this was a concussion, a brain injury. When in reality, here you have a collapsed athlete, a downed athlete, that may be from something like a traumatic brain injury, but can also be from cardiac things or otherwise.”
Sutterer also pointed to the fact that medical personnel quickly checked Barcelos’ pulse after he went down. “It was nice to see we had a good, quick check of the pulse. We did not see any CPR, so presumably there was no cardiac arrest that was sustained. Therefore, cardiac things, at least initially, are not high on the list [of possible causes].”
The doctor also discussed the possibility of a brain bleed, especially considering how much damage Barcelos had taken throughout the fight.
He said, “Being a traumatic sport, with all the repetitive head blows at the end of the fight, we have to be prepared for the development of an internal brain bleed that became worse and got to the point where it finally caused him to pass out and lose consciousness at the end of the fight.”
Sutterer also pointed toward exhaustion as another possible factor. Barcelos was nearly 22 minutes into a grueling fight and is 39 years old, and he had also taken significant damage around his left eye.
“This is something just like crazy sheer exhaustion, electrolyte abnormalities, dehydration, or even something like buildup of intraocular pressure in the eye that caused a syncopal response.”
There was no immediate CPR performed inside the cage, which makes a sustained cardiac arrest appear less likely based on the footage. However, that does not rule out other medical issues, and any potential cranial or brain injuries will need to be evaluated through detailed medical testing.
Until Barcelos, his team, the UFC, or his doctors provide more information, anything beyond the available updates would be speculation. For now, the most important update is an encouraging one: Barcelos is reportedly awake and conscious after being transported to the hospital.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
