Raoni Barcelos suffered brain swelling in UFC Vegas 121 collapse, says Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira says tests found swelling in Raoni Barcelos's brain after he lost consciousness in the UFC Vegas 121 bantamweight main event on September 26. Teixeira, the former light heavyweight champion who cornered Barcelos, said it on his Portuguese-language podcast, Overdogs Brasil. His comments, translated by MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz, were reported in English on Friday, October 2, by Uncrowned.

This is not an official diagnosis. The UFC's only statement gave none, and neither Barcelos nor his personal doctor has mentioned swelling. Teixeira himself says more tests are needed.

What happened in the cage

Barcelos, 39, led Raul Rosas Jr. on all three cards going into the fifth round, 39-37, 39-37 and 39-36, CBS Sports reported. Early in the round he landed a counter right and took Rosas down. Rosas reversed with a trip, and Barcelos passed out as he was taken down, according to CBS's live coverage. Herb Dean stopped it at 1:38, and the official result is a KO/TKO win for Rosas.

Why he went out is still unclear. Teixeira said it wasn't a normal knockout, per Heavy. He also said it "looked like it was a headbutt there," an accidental one, though "we didn't know," per MMA Weekly.

Barcelos left on a stretcher and had a CT scan at a Level 1 trauma center. On September 27 the UFC said he was "stable, alert and responsive, with full movement." He announced his discharge late on Tuesday, September 29, with a photo with his family, per Sportsnaut.

What Teixeira said

According to Sherdog's translation, Teixeira said:

"There was some swelling in his brain, so it was a traumatic brain injury and maybe that swelling caused him to black out."

He called the blackout "the body's defense mechanism." Sports-medicine doctor Brian Sutterer disagreed on X: "Your brain doesn't 'switch off' as a defense mechanism when it's taken trauma," per Lowkick MMA. Teixeira also said Barcelos needs "all the proper tests to find out what happened," per Heavy.

Before Teixeira spoke, others close to Barcelos gave no cause. His doctor, Gustavo Medeiros, said in a video shared by ESPN Brazil that he was "lucid and oriented" and being kept in as a precaution, per EssentiallySports. After the discharge, head coach Davi Ramos said a stroke and a heart attack were ruled out, "but we still don't have an explanation," per Sportsnaut.

We think the swelling should be read as Teixeira's account, not a finding, until a doctor confirms it. He was in the corner, but he isn't a doctor.

Where Barcelos stands

From his hospital bed, Barcelos wrote on Instagram: "I was feeling great winning round by round, even in fifth. Unfortunately I just fainted." Heavy reported the post. In a video reported on October 5, he said he was "still here in the United States for the process of exams," per MMA Sucka.

He came in on a five-fight win streak, with wins over Payton Talbott, Cody Garbrandt, Ricky Simón and Montel Jackson. He is now 22-6, per Wikipedia. The market warmed to him before this fight: the line opened at Rosas -205 and closed at -147, with Barcelos at +120.

Rosas, who turns 22 on Thursday, is now 13-1, per Wikipedia. In the cage he asked fans to "please pray for Raoni Barcelos. He's a warrior." Both men received the Fight of the Night bonus.

What comes next

There is no return date and no decision on his career. Asked about Barcelos's future at the press conference after the Contender Series, Dana White said he was "not even thinking about that," as reported by EssentiallySports. Any comeback would need medical clearance, and we found no published medical suspension from the Nevada commission.

Former fighter Paul Felder said on his podcast, as reported by Heavy on September 28, that if doctors can't find a cause, "You've got to be done with combat sports."