Raoni Barcelos got back on track in a big way at UFC Vegas 61 with a lopsided decision win over Trevin Jones.
The Brazilian displayed superior grappling and striking over the three rounds. He battered Jones and finally bled him with vicious elbows to the ground. There were a few moments where it looked like Barcelos might secure the finish but he still managed to get the job done with a dominant victory across 15 consecutive minutes.
The scorecards read 30-25, 30-27 and 30-27 all for Barcelos.
” I’m back at the UFC,” Barcelos stated afterwards. “This is what I wanted to do. “I wanted to fight and go to the floor. Still, we did well but we wanted to finish it but actually happy to just [win one].
” I could still fight next week, but Rio [de Janiero] [at UFC 283] is a possibility .”
It wasn’t Jones who set the tone with his aggressive game plan. He pushed Jones backwards and unleashed a constant stream of strikes. Jones, who was primarily known as a counter-striker, was always on his back looking for an opportunity to fire heavy punches.
Barcelos kept his attack varied by placing Jones on the ground with a timed takedown. This allowed Jones to get into position to start throwing punches off the top.
A reset to begin the second round did not help Jones because Barcelos continued his aggressive style of boxing, and then launched forward with an explosive flying knee. This nearly got him a knockout. Jones avoided the shot, but then took a massive overhand from Barcelos which ended with Jones on the floor again.
With Jones stuck on his back, Barcelos was methodical with his strikes as he connected with several stiff punches and even more elbows. By the time the horn sounded, Jones’ blonde hair was streaked with red from the blood flowing out of a cut opened by Barcelos on the ground.
Barcelos followed that up with another takedown that led him to the mount yet again with Jones just stuck underneath him with little chance to escape. Jones held on to Jones, despite Barcelos trying for the end but the fight was over in three rounds.
After back-to-back defeats, Barcelos knew he had to win. But he gave a great performance and is now hoping to fight in his own home. The UFC plans a return visit to Brazil in the early 2023..
