UFC Vegas 121: Raul Rosas Jr. Reportedly Gets the Better of Raoni Barcelos in Main Event
UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos, also known as UFC Vegas 121, took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, headlined by two bantamweights riding five-fight win streaks. The card also featured several notable preliminary bouts.
The Main Event
On Saturday, September 26, the UFC Apex (also referred to as Meta APEX) in Las Vegas hosted UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos, also billed as UFC Vegas 121 or The Ultimate Fighter 34 Finale. The bantamweight main event pitted 22-year-old Raul Rosas Jr., who has stated his ambition to become the youngest champion in UFC history, against 39-year-old Raoni Barcelos, who has strung together an impressive late-career run including a win over rising contender Payton Talbott. Both fighters entered on five-fight winning streaks.
Ahead of the bout, MMA Fighting's pre-fight analysis favored Barcelos, citing his more well-rounded skill set and the likelihood he could take the fight into the championship rounds. However, according to VAVEL.com's live coverage — the only source among those reviewed that reports a concrete outcome — the fight went the distance to the final round, with Rosas ultimately winning by knockout. Neither UFC.com nor the available Sherdog excerpt confirms the result of the headline bout, so the actual outcome relies on VAVEL's reporting.
Co-Main Event
The card also featured a bantamweight bout between Norma Dumont and Ailin Perez, billed as a personal rivalry fight, with the winner positioned as a potential future title challenger.
Preliminary Card Results
According to UFC.com and Sherdog, the preliminary card delivered several finishes. Brady Hiestand submitted Rinya Nakamura via rear-naked choke in the second round (4:07), extending his win streak to four. Rodolfo Vieira won a unanimous decision (30-27 across all three scorecards) over Robert Bryczek. Christian Edwards stopped Rodolfo Bellato by TKO in round three (1:47) for his first UFC win. Elves Brener knocked out Josiah Harrell in the first round (4:14), while Montel Jackson finished Ricky Simon by TKO in round two (2:39), avenging a loss the two had shared back in 2018. Alatengheili won a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over John Castaneda.
As reported by UFC.com.br, Harrell spoke ahead of the event about bouncing back from his UFC debut loss and from a past brain surgery, saying he values progression over perfection.
The event streamed live on Paramount+, with early preliminary bouts beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
