UFC Vegas 121 Awards 3 $100,000 Bonuses as Raul Rosas Jr. Stops Raoni Barcelos

Q: After a brutal Round 5 slam victory, who will newly ranked phenom Raul Rosas Jr. target next in the bantamweight division?

Raul Rosas Jr. has not publicly named a next opponent yet, but the most logical targets after UFC Vegas 121 are fighters in the lower half of the bantamweight rankings—especially someone around the No. 8 to No. 12 range. The win over Raoni Barcelos was the biggest of Rosas Jr.’s career and pushed the 21-year-old into the rankings after a sixth straight victory. Because Barcelos entered the bout as a ranked veteran and Rosas Jr. survived a difficult five-round test before scoring the Round 5 slam finish, he is now positioned for a step up rather than a reset. Based on the division’s landscape, the most sensible matchmaking would be against a fellow rising contender or established fringe contender such as Ricky Simon, Montel Jackson, or Mario Bautista if the UFC wants to accelerate his climb. Jackson strengthened his case on the same card by knocking out Simon, which could also make him a particularly credible name for Rosas Jr. if the promotion wants to match two surging bantamweights. There is also outside noise around Brady Hiestand, who called for Rosas Jr. after his upset submission win over Rinya Nakamura, but that would be a smaller move than Rosas Jr.’s ranking breakthrough suggests. So, while no official target has been declared, the evidence points to Rosas Jr. aiming upward at a ranked bantamweight—most likely a top-10 or near-top-10 opponent next.

3 articles · Updated · MMA Mania · Sep 27

$100,000 post-fight bonuses went to Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos for Fight of the Night, plus Luis Hernandez and Yazmin Jauregui for Performance of the Night.
Rosas Jr. strengthened his push into the bantamweight rankings by knocking out veteran Barcelos in the Las Vegas main event, capping a card packed with finishes.
Jauregui earned her bonus with a 62-second knockout of Vanessa Demopoulos, while Hernandez followed his Contender Series breakthrough with a 57-second submission over Sedriques Dumas.
Five other finishers—Montel Jackson, Elves Brenner, Christian Edwards, Brady Hiestand and Tina Black—received $25,000 awards under UFC's event payout structure.