Teixeira reveals brain swelling caused Barcelos to lose consciousness at UFC Vegas 121

Raoni Barcelos suffered swelling in his brain that triggered an involuntary loss of consciousness during his UFC Vegas 121 main event against Raul Rosas Jr. at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, according to former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. Barcelos was hospitalised immediately after the incident and discharged three days later, though his fighting future remains uncertain pending additional medical testing.

Teixeira, a longtime friend who was working Barcelos’ corner on the night, described the moment as unlike any knockout he had witnessed in his career. Speaking on his Overdogs podcast, he explained that Barcelos had been ahead on the scorecards going into the fifth round before collapsing without any obvious strike landing cleanly.

“It was different because it wasn’t a knockout,” Teixeira said. “If it had been a knockout, we’re used to that. But this was something that happened out of nowhere, and we started thinking about all kinds of things. Could it have been his heart? Could it have been something neurological? There was some swelling in his brain, so it was a traumatic brain injury, and maybe that swelling caused him to black out. It was the body’s defence mechanism. ‘Let’s shut this down because this guy isn’t going to stop.’ His mind was stronger than his body — he didn’t want to give up.”

Teixeira was standing alongside Barcelos’ father, Laerte, in the corner at the time. He said both men initially suspected an accidental headbutt had gone unnoticed, but the severity of the situation became clear when Barcelos was carried out on a stretcher. “Seeing him being taken out on a stretcher at that moment, man, it was the most desperate moment in MMA,” Teixeira said. “I saw everyone’s faces — Hunter’s face, the concern. You find yourself looking for the expression of the UFC doctor.”

Teixeira also directed criticism at referee Herb Dean, arguing he was slow to intervene and only stopped the contest after Rosas Jr. chose to halt his own punches. It is not the first time Teixeira has raised concerns about Dean; he was also in Alex Pereira’s corner for the Cyril Gane title fight at the UFC White House event in June, when Pereira publicly criticised Dean over illegal strikes to the back of the head. Teixeira suggested it may be time for Dean to step back from refereeing.

As for Barcelos, Teixeira confirmed the 39-year-old bantamweight will need further medical evaluation before any decision on his future in MMA can be made. “Of course, that’s going to be a conversation he’ll have with his family and everyone else,” Teixeira said.