Rafael Barbosa challenged the odds by returning to mixed martial arts cage after exams detected brain aneurysms days before the biggest fight of his life, and now he walks around with the Pancrase title over his shoulder. That seemed impossible when Barbosa was forced off the LFA title fight with Jonas Bilharinho in March 2022 due to a health scare. In fact, it was unclear at the time whether or not he would be able to ever fight again.
“It was a very delicate moment where I felt like I had no ground to stand on,” Barbosa told MMA Fighting. “I was ready to face Bilharinho. Anyone who fights me knows I’m not an easy fight. I had two choices: go down the path most people would take, which is to quit my career — ‘brain surgery and then take punches [to the head], are you crazy?’ — or come back, turn things around and make history, do something no one has done.”
Barbosa underwent surgery weeks later in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, and it was deemed a success. Doctors told “Coxinha” he would be cleared to fight in the future.
“I remember seeing the hospital lights and speaking to God,” Barbosa said. “I said, ‘Lord, if I’m meant to come back healthy, I won’t give up on my dream.’ I woke up on the surgery table. There was panic in the room and the doctor said to keep me awake. I was awake went up to the ICU, which wasn’t supposed to after a 10-hour surgery. Two days later I was already walking around the room, and on the third day I was home. I felt like it was God’s answer. ‘I’m going to keep going, let’s do this.’”
In March 2023, a year after the cancelled LFA bout with Bilharinho — and before the deadline giving by doctors —, Barbosa flew to Niagara Falls, NY, to face Mairon Santos on short notice in a LFA co-main event bout. He lost a decision and eventually decided to get rid of the extra weight cut by moving up to lightweight. “Coxinha” signed with Pancrase and scored a pair of finishes in 2025 before stopping Tatsuya Saika to claim the lightweight belt this past March.
More than calling himself the best 155-pounder of that promotion, what he values the most is feeling alive in a cage.
“Out of everything the Pancrase belt can give me, that’s what makes me happiest,” Barbosa said. “Winning the Pancrase belt was a victory in itself for me because the old-school fans know what Pancrase means. I’m really happy there, truly. I came off two years without fighting and went through good and bad moments in my journey, and when I entered the division, I knew I would become champion.”
With the silver belt wrapped around his waist, Barbosa dreams with a chance on Dana White’s Contender Series or a deal with Japan’s RIZIN to go after another title.
“A spot should open soon [for DWCS], and I believe I’m back on the radar,” Barbosa said. “And if it doesn’t come through for the Contender, I’d rather keep fighting in Japan and go to RIZIN. The guy I just beat in my last fight [Tatsuya Saika] went to RIZIN before and got a knockout win there, and all Pancrase champions either go to Contender or to RIZIN. I want an opportunity.”
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