Raoni Barcelos has released his first statement on video since a frightening scene in the main event of UFC Fight Night 289.
Barcelos (22-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) reached Round 5 of an intense headlining bout against Raul Rosas Jr. at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas this past Saturday. Barcelos was ahead on the scorecards entering the final round, but during a takedown sequence, the Brazilian was knocked out cold as he made impact with the canvas, leaving many to question what exactly caused him to go unconscious.
The 39-year-old bantamweight was stretchered out of the octagon and brought to a nearby hospital. Soon after the fight, his team relayed that he was awake and speaking. The UFC released an official statement, indicating that a CT scan was conducted
along with a comprehensive assessment.
For the first time since the scary scene, Barcelos appeared on camera from his hospital bed, reassuring everyone that he is on the road to recovery and intends to continue fighting in the future.
Below is Barcelos' message from Instagram, which was spoken in Portuguese and translated by Google:
"Hey everyone, hope you're doing well. I just wanted to send a message to let you know I'm OK. Yeah, I'm doing really well. I'm getting all the tests done here at the hospital. I just have to do what the hospital requires, and that’s it, guys. I’m grateful for all the prayers and messages of support. Please keep them coming.
"Let's move on to the next one. Man, I gave it my all out there. Like I said before, the way I went out wasn't how I wanted it to happen; I really wanted to be the champion. I wanted to walk away with the win, but the good Lord knows best. So, on to the next one. I'm here; I'm going to come back – come back stronger. I wanted to send a kiss and a big hug to all of you, and thank you so much for everything. Thanks. Let's do this."
The caption on the Instagram Reel provided more thoughts from Barcelos:
"Speak up, people! Passing here to reassure you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love, for the messages and for every prayer.
We were putting up a great fight. I was feeling great winning round by round, even in fifth. Unfortunately I just fainted It was a scare for all of us, but I'm being watched closely, in observation, and once I have more information I'll share with you, but I can say I'm doing great
The will of God is greater than our will I never imagined receiving so much support. Thank you all for being with me right now. You can be sure that I have fought with everything I had and I will keep fighting to honor my family's name in pursuit of my dream. I hope that my walk will also inspire others to keep going, with grit, in pursuit of a better life.
Thank you UFC for all the support, my family, my team and every single person who's cheering and praying for me. I love you guys! Let's go through it together. And like a fine wine, I’ll come back even better."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Raoni Barcelos releases first video statement from hospital after disturbing knockout
