Glover Teixeira has shed some light on the scary moment that stopped the UFC Vegas 121 main event cold. The former light heavyweight champion, who worked Raoni Barcelos' corner that night, said his longtime friend suffered a swelling in his brain that eventually caused his body to shut down during the fight. Both and Ag Fight relayed the same explanation from Teixeira, giving the account some real weight. Other outlets framed it a bit differently. MMA Weekly and both reported, citing other sources, that the scare was caused by a traumatic brain injury, which lines up with Teixeira's account even if the terminology varies depending on who you ask. The fight itself ended badly for Barcelos. Raul Rosas Jr. finished him by TKO/KO in the fifth round at one minute, thirty-eight seconds at UFC Vegas 121, a result that will sting given where both men sat in the bantamweight picture. Barcelos came in ranked No. sits just ahead at number #13 with a one thousand five hundred ninety Elo mark over the same number of bouts. The finish only widens that gap. The moment hit close to home for Deiveson Figueiredo, who has lived through something similar himself. The former flyweight champion, now ranked ninth at bantamweight, described reliving the experience as 'agonizing' when asked about watching Barcelos go down. Figueiredo is coming off a loss to Song Yadong via submission in round 2 and is already looking ahead to his own matchup, booked against Payton Talbott at UFC three thirty-two on October three. Our model gives him a fourteen percent chance in that one, rating it strong confidence, so Figueiredo has plenty on his own plate even as he processes what happened to his friend in the division.
Sources (5)
We summarise the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work.
- Glover Teixeira reveals what caused Raoni Barcelos’ health scare at UFC Vegas 121 (MMA Fighting)
- Glover reveals cause of Raoni Barcelos' sudden illness in UFC: "Brain swelling" (AgFight)
- Traumatic brain injury caused Raoni Barcelos' medical scare at UFC Vegas 121 (MMA Weekly)
- Traumatic brain injury caused Raoni Barcelos' medical scare at UFC Vegas 121 (Yahoo Sports)
- Deiveson Figueiredo relives his own experience commenting on Raoni Barcelos's drama: “Agonizing” (AgFight)
This story ran in the October 2, 2026 edition of the daily show.