Raul Rosas Jr’s latest UFC win ended in bizarre fashion – and he made sure to keep his celebration classy.
After four rounds of war, Rosas Jr was heading towards just his second ever defeat inside the cage as all three judges had Barcelos up by two points. However, the five round distance proved too much for the Brazilian, who appeared to be knocked out by Rosas’ final takedown.
Will Raul Rosas Jr. become the youngest champion in UFC history?
The bantamweight prospect, who turns 22 in October, is targeting a record set by Jon Jones when he won UFC gold at 23 years and 242 days old.
Rosas Jr gave a standard post-fight interview, during which he told fans that they should pray for his opponent after seeing what had happened. He is now on a six-fight winning run and could be heading towards the bantamweight top ten.
Raul Rosas Jr vs Raoni Barcelos UFC Vegas 121 result
Raul Rosas Jr got off to a good start in the main event of Saturday’s Meta Apex card. He piled on the pressure early and won the opening round, but it was all downhill from there as he struggled with the experience of Raoni Barcelos and lost the next three across every scorecard.
Things weren’t looking great as the pair battled into the fifth before Rosas Jr slammed Barcelos to the mat and without actually landing any ground and pound seemed to leave his rival out cold. The result was that he won by knockout – his first since November of 2023.
His post-fight interview with Paul Felder was emotional as he pleaded with the crowd: “First I want everybody tonight to pray for Raoni Barcelos. He is a warrior and it takes two to tango.”
He proceeded to suggest a bonus and got the entire crowd at the newly-extended Apex to chant ‘Chiwiwis’ with him. There was also a call for Dana White to give him a shot at the top ten of the 135lb division going forward as he plans to take Jon Jones’ record for youngest ever UFC champion.
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