Glover Teixeira, who worked Raoni Barcelos' corner at UFC Vegas 121, says the bantamweight suffered swelling in his brain before blacking out in the fifth round of his main event against Raul Rosas Jr. Barcelos was ahead on the scorecards when he went unconscious before the two-minute mark of the round without any clear finishing blow. He was taken immediately to a Las Vegas hospital, where tests showed swelling consistent with a traumatic brain injury. Teixeira described the blackout as the body's defense mechanism and said Barcelos' mind was stronger than his body.
Glover Teixeira says Raoni Barcelos suffered swelling in his brain before blacking out in the fifth round of his UFC Vegas 121 main event against Raul Rosas Jr. Teixeira, who worked Barcelos' corner, shared the details after the fight.
Barcelos was ahead on the scorecards when he went unconscious before the two-minute mark of the final round. There was no clear finishing blow. He was taken immediately to a Las Vegas hospital, where tests showed swelling consistent with a traumatic brain injury.
Teixeira described the blackout as the body's defense mechanism. In his view, Barcelos' mind was stronger than his body.
The fighters
Barcelos, 39, is a Brazilian bantamweight ranked 13th in the division with a record of 22-6-0. He fights out of the Laerte Barcelos Team and brings a high-volume, accurate striking game, landing 4.65 significant strikes per minute at 51 percent accuracy. He also averages 2.51 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Rosas, 21, is ranked 12th at bantamweight and carries a 13-1-0 record. The American trains with 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas and is known for his wrestling-driven approach, averaging 6.1 takedowns per 15 minutes, far above his striking output of 1.34 significant strikes per minute.
Teixeira, 46, is a fellow Brazilian who holds a 33-9-0 record and fights out of Teixeira MMA & Fitness. In this case he was in the corner rather than the cage, offering an insider's account of what happened to his countryman.
Why it matters
- The medical findings point to a serious injury rather than a routine knockout, raising questions about Barcelos' recovery and his future in the cage.
- Barcelos was winning on the scorecards, so the fifth-round collapse came without a decisive strike that would explain it.
- Both men sit in the bantamweight rankings, and the circumstances of the result may shape how the division views the outcome.
Teixeira's account offers the first detailed explanation of why Barcelos went down, and it frames the episode as a medical event rather than a conventional finish.
