Courtesy of Blaine Henry, The Fight Library
Coming off of his biggest win yet, and that’s saying a lot, Raoni Barcelos was heading into UFC Columbus with all of the momentum in the world. Sitting at 15-1, he is looking to climb up from his No. 15 ranking and put on a show in the process. The fight has been delayed because of recent developments surrounding the entire world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barcelos will be awaiting his chance to keep climbing the ranks when things start to recover.
In the beginning, Barcelos was always on the mat as a child. “I was born on the mat, actually, getting jiu-jitsu through my master father Laerte Barcelos,” says Barcelos. It wasn’t until later that Barcelos turned his attention towards MMA. It was a couple giant names in the sport that made Barcelos change his mind. “I was encouraged to fight MMA by the athletes Glover Teixeira and Pedro Rizzo.”
Outside of MMA, Barcelos is a fan of the beach and spending time with his family. He says, “I like going to the beach to catch the wave and enjoy the family.”
Raoni Barcelos and his future with the UFC
Barcelos’ career goals in the UFC are similar to many, which makes the chase that much better. “My goal is to rise more and more in the rankings to one day be a UFC champion.” Barcelos is off to a great start. He is 4-0 in the UFC with wins over Kurt Holobaugh, Chris Gutierrez, Carlos Huachin, and Said Nurmagomedov. But that is not the extent of Barcelos’ success. He also has notched wins over Dan Moret and Bobby Moffett outside of the UFC.
As for his performance at UFC Busan, Barcelos thinks he has fought tough fights and applauds all of his opponents for being the best in the world. He intends to continue to do more of the same in Columbus at Cody Stamann.
“So far I have only fought with tough opponents and I think that in UFC there are no easy fights. We are 110% ready for this fight.”
A win over Stamann puts Barcelos in a fantastic position in the UFC. “I think it puts me in a good position in the ranking and with good visibility within the organization.” That is the goal. To get the better fight each night out.
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Predicting the Future
Barcelos is part of the bantamweight division which has had an upheaval as of late. Jose Aldo, who is coming off of a loss to Marlon Moraes in his bantamweight debut, is now fighting for the title against Henry Cejudo at UFC 250. While many are not happy about the fight, Barcelos is pulling for his fellow countryman.
“I think it’s a great fight, especially for the bantamweight division. All of my support goes to José Aldo.”
Barcelos was slated to face Cody Stamann at UFC Columbus on March 28. The event has since been postponed because of the coronavirus, but UFC president Dana White has promised the event will be rescheduled. Barcelona will look to make his next move up the bantamweight division on his way to his shot at the title when the bout finally comes to fruition.
Be sure to follow Raoni Barcelos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to follow his fight journey!
Born on the mat, Raoni Barcelos ready to earn UFC title shot