MartialNarrative's Review

Raul Rosas Jr. vs Raoni Barcelos

This is going to be tough for Rosas, Barcelos is durable and capable. Rosas is going to need a big shot landed in an exchange or a quick submission during a scramble. Rosas is forcing these wild exchanges but Barcelos is right there. It doesn’t seem like Rosas can be affective with his grappling. They’re fighting at a super high pace and scrapped that first round out. They both slow it down a bit as they gained respect for the other. Rosas is the initiator and seems to be defending shots a bit better. Barcelos is just taking everything and walking forward. He almost gets to some good takedown entries but can’t finish them. Rosas is landing at a high rate but Barcelos isn’t far behind him. Barcelos times a nice takedown but Rosas pops up. Barcelos puts him on the fence and gets him down and almost gets his back but Rosas scrambles up with a flurry to end round 2. Rosas is still pressuring a lot but Barcelos has tamed it, he gets a nice dump and then jump on Rosas. A reversal comes from Rosas and he gets off some ground strikes, Barcelos gets up and Rosas fires a big flurry of strikes. They are really trading bath and forth now, both landing some heavy shots. Barcelos has taken a lot of damage but has gained as much momentum. He’s landed some awesome takedown including a sick foot trip from the back. Rosas is able to roll out to end the round. I don’t think Rosas knows if he should stick to his game plan or abandon it and change. Barcelos is going to do what he does no matter what. You have to finish Barcelos to stop him from fighting his fight. Barcelos finds another sick takedown and gets Rosas back. They get up and Barcelos pushing Rosas to the fence. He then pulls him away from the cage and down where he controls and gets some ground strikes off. Rosas tries to roll for a leg but Barcelos find his way to the back again. This time he gets some hooks in and attempts the choke. Rosas somehow defends the choke with no hands just tucking his chin. Barcelos keeps working, trying to sink the arm in deeper or crank the neck. Rosas grits it out, avoiding the submission but takes quite a bit of strikes and was in danger consistently. Final round, this has been a fire fight. Both of these guys stock has gone up. Rosas looks determined and comes out hot like he has all night. Barcelos defends, gets the takedown and finds the back but Rosas scrambles out. They clinch on the fence and Rosa’s gets a reversal and then a takedown of his own. Barcelos is un responsive max Rosas lands a few shots and the stands up due to Barcelos state. I’m not sure if Barcelos went out from a punch, or the slam. Weird end to a fight but an incredible ending to an incredible fight. Barcelos was winning on the cards in my opinion and Rosas needed the finish and found it. Barcelos has to be taken out on a stretcher and I hope he recovers quickly.