Raoni Barcelos Speaks About Potential UFC Retirement
· Yahoo Sports
UFC bantamweight fighter Raoni Barcelos spoke about potentially having to retire following a scary medical incident at UFC Vegas 121.
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On September 26, Barcelos was involved in a five-round war with Raul Rosas Jr. in the main event of UFC Vegas 121 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The fight was amazing, with both men winning $100,000 each for Fight of the Night. But the bout was also scary to watch, because Barcelos suffered from a medical emergency in the fifth round that led to the stoppage of the fight.
While Barcelos is still not 100% sure what happened to him that night, he knows that it could have been the last time he fought inside the UFC Octagon.
Raoni Barcelos Speaks About Potentially Retiring From MMA
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Barcelos spoke about potentially having to retire from MMA due to what happened in the fight against Rosas.
“(Retirement) hasn’t been ruled out. This is a very difficult time because we’re athletes, we’re fighters, and you never want to stop. A lot of the time, your body can’t take it anymore, but your mind keeps you going. We really need to give it time to see what the future holds. But I want to make it clear right now that I don’t want to stop. Everything is still very fresh for me. Saying that I’m going to stop, that I’ll never fight again, is very difficult right now when everything is still so recent. I’m not even thinking about that possibility. Could it happen? Of course, it could, but I don’t want to think about it. On the contrary, I’m trying to enjoy and make the most of this moment in the best way possible,” Barcelos said.
Raoni Barcelos Hopeful to Fight Again
While Barcelos knows that being forced to retire is very realistic, he is still hopeful that he can fight again.
“And that’s what we’re aiming for. A lot of people have already retired me before my time, but I really need this time to figure out what comes next. I had a long talk with my father, Davi [Ramos], Andre Felipe, and Glover (Teixeira). They told me, ‘Raoni, enjoy this moment. Now is not the time to think about retirement. I think you can give that answer a little further down the road,’” Barcelos said.
“Thank God, I feel healthy and I’m getting better every day. This is the process. There’s no way around it. The most important thing is that my heart is doing well. I went through a very difficult recovery period, with a lot of pain and strong medication, and thank God I’m not taking any medication at all today. My body is completely clear of medication, and the treatment was very aggressive at the beginning. … I know that the people who care about me and appreciate my work were really scared because, up until that point, nobody knew… It could have been something much more serious. I might not have come back. So, because of that, I’m just grateful to everyone who prayed for me, regardless of their religion, and who simply asked for me to come back safely.”
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