Raul Rosas Jr. Knocks Out Raoni Barcelos in Round Five at UFC Vegas 121
The short version
- Raul Rosas Jr. beat Raoni Barcelos by fifth-round knockout at UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 26, 2026, at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
- The finishing blow was not visible on the broadcast; the report suggested, without confirmation, that it may have been head contact during a takedown.
- Barcelos remained down for a long period and left the Octagon on a stretcher; no condition update was given.
- Barcelos had built momentum across rounds three and four before the sudden finish.
- The bantamweight contest was closely contested through the first two rounds.
Raul Rosas Jr. scored a fifth-round knockout of Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 121 in Las Vegas; the finishing blow was not shown on the broadcast and Barcelos left on a stretcher.
Raul Rosas Jr. defeated Raoni Barcelos by fifth-round knockout at UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bantamweight bout, contested on a UFC Fight Night card, ended in rare circumstances: Barcelos stayed on the canvas for an extended stretch and was carried from the Octagon on a stretcher.
The strike that ended the fight was never identified on the broadcast. The stoppage came as Rosas Jr. completed a takedown in the final round, and the Yahoo Sports report from cageside speculated that Rosas Jr.'s head may have struck Barcelos's jaw during the sequence, a theory the writer flagged as only a guess. Barcelos remained on the mat for a considerable period before being placed on a stretcher and taken out of the cage.
Both men are grapplers by background, but the action was standing almost from the start. Rosas Jr. threw quick kicks and a left hand that repeatedly found Barcelos's chin, while Barcelos worked to set up his right hand and had success with combinations, body strikes and clinch takedowns. Rosas Jr. stayed active off his back after one takedown and got back to his feet quickly. Barcelos ended the opening round with a badly swollen eye.
The second round followed a similar script. Barcelos landed his jab and kept digging to the body with his right hand, which fed his combinations, while Rosas Jr. answered with calf kicks and kept connecting with his left. Barcelos timed several takedowns but had difficulty holding Rosas Jr. down. After ten closely fought minutes, the bout was still up for grabs.
Barcelos started to pull the fight his way in round three. He kept scoring with jabs and body shots, took Rosas Jr. down and briefly took his back, then absorbed a reversal that left Rosas Jr. on top landing strikes before the Brazilian worked back up. The sustained body work set up an overhand right that left Rosas Jr. bleeding from the face, and Barcelos added a late foot sweep to close the round with momentum on his side.
The fourth belonged to Barcelos as well. He pressed forward while Rosas Jr. circled the outside with lower output and slower punches. Barcelos landed a clean right hand, added another takedown, then took the back and looked for a choke. Rosas Jr. survived, but closed the round with his face still bloodied after a difficult stretch.
Rosas Jr. began the final round aggressively, throwing a burst of punches and multiple flying knee attempts, and Barcelos answered with a quick takedown before the action returned to the feet. Rosas Jr. then scored a takedown, and the fight abruptly ended with Barcelos knocked out by contact the broadcast never isolated. The report described the scene as unlike anything its writer had seen in nearly 20 years covering the sport.
No update on Barcelos's condition was included, and the report closed by expressing hope that the Brazilian was okay. The finish decided a bout that had swung back and forth across more than four rounds between two fighters better known for their grappling.
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