Still waiting for UFC shot, RFA champ Raoni Barcelos ready to up smack-talking game

Before beating Ricky Musgrave to capture RFA’s vacant featherweight crown, Raoni Barcelos said he believed that anyone who became an RFA champion moved on to sign with the UFC.

That was 14 months ago. Now, as he heads into what will be his second title defense, at Friday’s RFA 45 co-headliner, he’s still awaiting his shot. And, while patient in his pursuit, Barcelos (10-1) hopes that beating challenger Dan Moret (11-2) – however that may happen – will be enough to validate his octagon ticket.

“(The UFC) is what I want the most,” Barcelos told MMAjunkie. “I think every athlete in MMA dreams of being where the best are. I also have that dream and I want to get there. And I think this next fight, regardless of what happens, if I come out with the win, I hope I get this contract so I can have that opportunity.

“That’s where the best in my division are. The event, the promotion, the support to athletes – they’re exceptional. It’s where I want to be.”

RFA 45 takes place Oct. 28 at Mystic Showroom in Prior Lake, Minn. The main card airs on AXS TV.

So far, Barcelos says he’s been living up to his end of the deal – performing at the best of his abilities. But he understands other factors, including the high level of the division he’s looking to enter, also influence the UFC’s hires. Not one to “talk himself up,” he has waited this far and will continue to do so.

As measured with his words as the Brazilian 145-pounder is, there’s one situation involving a former RFA colleague that he had a little trouble digesting. Shortly after failing to make weight for their scrap, Lando Vannata was not only signed by the UFC, but made his short-notice debut as a headliner opposite lightweight contender Tony Ferguson.

“We got there, (Vanatta) did his marketing, the whole circus, and didn’t make weight,” Barcelos recalled. “And he didn’t try, didn’t make an effort, so we decided not to take the fight. And I think one, two months after that he was hired by the UFC.

“I think that got to me a little, but it didn’t break me. He did all the wrong things – talked a bunch of smack on television. The media piled up on me saying I was chickening out, that I was running from the fight, and he ended up going to the UFC. So, really, I think the UFC, in this aspect, sometimes prefers a guy who does the wrong things than a guy who acts correctly and shows it inside the cage.”

That’s probably the most aggravation you’ll get out of level-headed Barcelos – who promptly made sure to highlight what an “excellent” fighter Vannata is and wish him well in his UFC endeavor. The training and fighting part of the octagon life – well, that Barcelos knows he can do.

It’s the trash-talking that will take some getting used to.

“I’ve always been hard on myself, and it’s unlike me to put myself way up there like (UFC featherweight champion Conor) McGregor does,” Barcelos said. “The first thing I have in mind is my competition. There are lots of people who aren’t even in there yet and are already thinking about the marketing they’re going to do outside of it.

“If it needs to be done, I’ll do it, but it’s not my style as an athlete, being like ‘I’m the man, I’m the best, no one can get me.’ Not yet. I think I still have a long way to go before being able to say those things. You have to be damn good, and show that you’re really all that. I still have to get there.”

Which is not to say that, after dealing with the flesh-and-blood competition, he’s not willing to do some promoting on the side.

“It’s ultimately a business, and you have to make it count,” Barcelos said. “So, of course, do you need to market yourself? You do. Do you need to talk smack? You do, because it’s part of the show and the UFC likes it. I don’t like it, but unfortunately I’ll have to learn. Because I’ll hear it on the other end too, and then I’ll have to talk back. If the guy is saying things he doesn’t mean, I can do that, too. Then we’ll fight and it’s all good after that.”

Before entertaining octagon thoughts, however, Barcelos is aware that he has more immediate things to worry about – more specifically, title challenger Moret, who brings in a four-fight winning streak and has yet to lose in the RFA cage.

“His game is not that different than (Bobby) Moffet’s, whom I last fought,” Barcelos analyzed. “He’s a grappler, strong, and tall for the division. But he’s a southpaw, so a few things change. I think that’s it. Of course we’re careful, but it’s a game that matches up well against mine.

“His strongest aspect is the fence work. He puts the pressure against the cage and goes for the takedown to work his jiu-jitsu. He’s a well-rounded guy, who also knows how to strike, so I need to be aware of everything.”

Respecting his foes is something Barcelos has picked him during a lifetime of competition. “Practically born on the mats,” he’s been taught by his father, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor who’s still his supporter and teacher, since he was a kid. Barcelos would later move on from the gis to a wrestling singlet – being eventually incorporated by the national Brazilian team.

Fighting, simply put, is what RFA’s featherweight champ has always known. And, with all its highs and lows, it’s something that he’s set on doing for as long as he can.

For now, his dream is the UFC. After that, he’ll just find new ones.

“I am 29, and I think I’ve been competing for 26 of them,” Barcelos said. “That’s what drives me, it’s what I live for, really, what motivates me – this adrenaline is what gives me fuel to go on and hopefully it will keep doing that for a long time.

“I’ve been through disappointments, but never thought of giving up on my dream. I have always tried, and I’ll keep on trying until I reach it. And when that happens, I’ll find a new dream to get to.

“When I was an Olympic athlete, my dream was to at least make it to the Olympics. I tried, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. So I’ve already set a new dream, and I’m looking for it. I don’t know if I’ll get it or not, but I’m going after it, and I won’t stop until I get it.”

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