Raoni Barcelos, better than you might think!

[HuskySamoan]

Raoni Barcelos vs Umar Nurmagomedov is one of the 3 compelling fights on tomorrows card and I wanted to add a little bit more interest to it. Not much needs to be said for the -950 favorite Umar, many people including myself seem to realize theres a good chance in the future he will taste UFC gold. That said, Raoni? He might be better than you think, he's 6-2 in the UFC with wins over Chris Guitierez and Said Nurmagomedov. He is a former Brazilian and South American champion in freestyle wrestling along with a pretty solid BJJ background. I know, it's Brazil...Outside of Cuba and the US, there really isn't any countries in the new world that are known for good wrestling but Raoni is a solid wrestler, he was a great athlete and while he's no longer a spring chicken, hell he might not even be a thanksgiving turkey at 35 in the Bantamweight division but, he's being overlooked.

Here's a highlight reel of him wrestling and grappling, the guy backflipped out of a takedown attempt...



Raoni is a certified hammer, lets see if the continuation of Ex Soviet domination continues tomorrow with Imavov vs Strickland and Raoni vs Nurmagomedov or if there will start being some push back.

 

[Spath]

Can’t wait to finally watch some proper fights!



Thanks for the grappling video, Barcelos is legit! This will be a good fight

 

[HuskySamoan]

Can’t wait to finally watch some proper fights!



Thanks for the grappling video, Barcelos is legit! This will be a good fight

And he's not afraid to be a "get in your face" kind of striker, it's stylistically a pretty compelling fight. Raoni has no bad losses, vs Valiev* and Henry Victor they were hard fought decision losses. If Umar embarrasses this guy the whole division will be put on notice.

 

[World eater]

I still think Umar takes it easy, but we’ll see soon. Good post TS.

 

[HuskySamoan]

I still think Umar takes it easy, but we’ll see soon. Good post TS.

I'm 50/50 it could be an outclassing from Umar, his movement, kicks and youth are super impressive but if people think Umar is going to put on a wrestling clinic...I think they'll be surprised, Raoni has been taken down 1 time in 8 UFC fights and it lasted about 20 seconds...93% takedown defense, better than Islam or Khabib. Umar also isn't super comfortable in punching range so Raoni has options. I agree though, I'd be surprised if he won, I wouldn't be surprised if it's competitive though.

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

Yeah, Barcelos' has a very smooth striking style considering he comes from grappling. If Umar puts a clinic on him, O'Malley is in trouble.

 

[fortheo]

Raoni Barcelos vs Umar Nurmagomedov is one of the 3 compelling fights on tomorrows card and I wanted to add a little bit more interest to it. Not much needs to be said for the -950 favorite Umar, many people including myself seem to realize theres a good chance in the future he will taste UFC gold. That said, Raoni? He might be better than you think, he's 6-2 in the UFC with wins over Chris Guitierez and Said Nurmagomedov. He is a former Brazilian and South American champion in freestyle wrestling along with a pretty solid BJJ background. I know, it's Brazil...Outside of Cuba and the US, there really isn't any countries in the new world that are known for good wrestling but Raoni is a solid wrestler, he was a great athlete and while he's no longer a spring chicken, hell he might not even be a thanksgiving turkey at 35 in the Bantamweight division but, he's being overlooked.

Here's a highlight reel of him wrestling and grappling, the guy backflipped out of a takedown attempt...



Raoni is a certified hammer, lets see if the continuation of Ex Soviet domination continues tomorrow with Imavov vs Strickland and Raoni vs Nurmagomedov or if there will start being some push back.

He's also the guy that Aldo brought in a decade ago to help prepare for Frankie's wrestling back in that first Aldo vs. edgar fight. Barcelos has been on the wrestling scene forever. The dude is a legit. If he was 5 years younger, I very well might have picked him to win. As of right now though, I just don't have confidence in his cardio. I like him, though, and will be happy if he wins

 

[HuskySamoan]

He's also the guy that Aldo brought in a decade ago to help prepare for Frankie's wrestling back in that first Aldo vs. edgar fight. Barcelos has been on the wrestling scene forever. The dude is a legit. If he was 5 years younger, I very well might have picked him to win. As of right now though, I just don't have confidence in his cardio. I like him, though, and will be happy if he wins

Yeah, his cardio isn't bad perse...I mean in his losses he showed good cardio, but he was the one who faded more. I think it'll be a fun fight unless Umars striking has improved a lot since the last time we really saw it tested by Saidyokub.

 

[fortheo]

Yeah, his cardio isn't bad perse...I mean in his losses he showed good cardio, but he was the one who faded more. I think it'll be a fun fight unless Umars striking has improved a lot since the last time we really saw it tested by Saidyokub.

That fight vs valiev, even though I thought it was a draw, Raoni gassed while doing very, very little. It just so happened that the few strikes he threw knocked valiev silly, so I thought he did enough for a draw. That said, he was recovering from Covid at that time, so maybe that affected his cardio. Hopefully he doesn't have that little of output against umar. If he does, umar will just get on his bike and outpoint him at range.

 

[HuskySamoan]

That fight vs valiev, even though I thought it was a draw, Raoni gassed while doing very, very little. It just so happened that the few strikes he threw knocked valiev silly, so I thought he did enough for a draw. That said, he was recovering from Covid at that time, so maybe that affected his cardio. Hopefully he doesn't have that little of output against umar. If he does, umar will just get on his bike and outpoint him at range.

I expect Umar to get on his bike and look to outpoint, if Raoni makes it competitive early he will most likely gas late and then get kicked to death similar to Saidyokub vs Umar in the PFL Round 3. But honestly even though he faded a bit vs Victor Henry he put forth a great pace.

 

[Enigma87]

Thinking of doing a small SGP on Barcelos and over 1.5 rounds

I think Nurma likely takes it but agree that Barcelos is super talented and the odds shouldn’t be this skewed

 

[Nobru]

Not yet sold on Umar and Raoni is solid.
Umar may dominate him, yes, but Raoni TDD is as good as it comes and his striking isnt bad.
good fight, I will definitely watch it

 

[Crazy Librarian]

He is indeed very good from the 2 fights I have seen from him. I forgot which fight, but he seemed gas to me. That's the only red flag I saw in his game.

 

[StonedLemur]

And he's not afraid to be a "get in your face" kind of striker, it's stylistically a pretty compelling fight. Raoni has no bad losses, vs Valiev* and Henry Victor they were hard fought decision losses. If Umar embarrasses this guy the whole division will be put on notice.

The only issue I have noticed in his fights, including the grappling matches above is his entries are sloppy...but he finishes the takedowns very nicely.

Against Umar that will be much harder to finish.

Either way this should be an excellent test for Umar, and Raoni alike.

 

[Black Blood]

Raoni is real good, but his career has moved too slow for one reason or another. Being 35 at 135lb... I think he missed his championship window. Umar gets the win via being 8 years younger.

 

[kingghidrah]

Yeah, Barcelos' has a very smooth striking style considering he comes from grappling. If Umar puts a clinic on him, O'Malley is in trouble.

O'Malley is in trouble even if Umar doesn't put on a clinic. O'Malley is potentially in trouble with anyone other than Moutinho

 

[waldywaldy]

Not saying Barcellos wins but the odds are waaaaay off on this one. Barcellos is legit af and a big step up in competition for Nurmagomedov.

 

[Hdfi]

Raoni is old as fuck, unathletic and will lose easily. He's ranked #33 by FightMatrix and I don't know why you guys are trying to hype him, he's not going to be a great win for Nurma.

 

[Stalkingsquid]

 

[HuskySamoan]

It happens. Raoni absorbed like 250 punches in his last loss vs Henry. I think Umar will be a future champ, Raoni still deserves love but 35 is old at 135lbs to fight one if the sports best prospects. Hopefully Umar gets another fight before Ramadan, that's why he said "February, March and Fall"