UFC commentator Paul Felder has encouraged bantamweight fighter Raoni Barcelos to retire following his scary TKO loss at UFC Vegas 121.
In what can only be described as one of the most terrifying moments in UFC history, Barcelos was stopped by Raul Rosas Jr. in the fifth round of their epic UFC Vegas 121 fight when he suffered some sort of medical episode.
We still do not know exactly what happened to Barcelos, only that he is doing better now after a scary situation that left fans everywhere concerned.
Felder, who was commentating the event, was understandably incredibly concerned about what was happening to Barcelos inside the Octagon.
Paul Felder Recounts Scary Situation With Raoni Barcelos
Speaking on the “Believe You Me” podcast, Felder recounted the scary situation with Barcelos at UFC Vegas 121, saying that he initially thought that Barcelos was having a heart attack.
“His neck was all clinched up, and he was unconscious. And it looked like he was — I thought he had a heart attack, off the bat. Then they came in, and they checked his pulse, which was terrifying to see. I have never seen somebody that was KO’d, where they come in and the first thing they did, the doctor put his fingers right on Raoni’s pulse. I was like, ‘Oh, this is really bad,’” Felder said (via MMAFighting.com).
“He was just not getting up, and then I’m thinking, is it a stroke? Is it a heart attack? But if they weren’t doing CPR and his pulse was at least there and present, and he’s breathing, probably not a heart attack.
“That was by far the scariest thing I’ve had — I’ve seen some nasty knockouts, guys out for a while, but they come to. To see somebody where the doctors are checking your pulse, it just kind of really puts it in perspective, too, what this sport is at its roots.”
Paul Felder Wants Raoni Barcelos to Retire
Given the frightening medical situation that Barcelos just dealt with, Felder — who retired from fighting at age 37 — has encouraged Barcelos to hang up his gloves, and he hopes the UFC can help him out financially after putting on such an amazing fight.
“They should give Raoni, like, another five (hundred thousand) on top of (the Fight of the Night bonus) for whatever, because that might be it for him. I think, no matter what, I’d love to see him retire. Hey, your body gave out on you to some degree. Unless it comes back that it was just some fluke thing, but to get rushed to the trauma center, and you’re 39?” Felder said.
“There’s still just so many questions out there on what really went down, and if they even know. That’s the scarier part: what if they can’t even pinpoint what exactly caused that? You’ve got to be done with combat sports. And if so, what a career this guy’s had. At 39, what a resurgence he’s had. Thoughts and prayers to his family. I really hope he’s OK. It was really sad to see.”
Paul Felder Encourages Raoni Barcelos to Retire From the UFC