DWCS Season 6, Week 9 results: 17-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. makes history, becomes youngest UFC fighter ever

Raul Rosas Jr. made history.

The 17-year-old bantamweight became the youngest UFC fighter in history on Tuesday, inking a full-time deal with the promotion after a win in his co-headlining Contender Series bout against Mando Gutierrez, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The Mexico native out-grappled Gutierrez (7-2) in all three rounds and showcased a creative style, nearly pulling off a Suloev stretch attempt in Round 1 and taking Gutierrez down in the second frame with a particularly gorgeous sequence off a faked flying knee. It was an impressive all-around performance — and one that showed Rosas Jr. (6-0) may actually be a force in the UFC before long.

In the end, all three judges scored the contest 30-27 in the youngster’s favor.

” There was not much to discuss. We didn’t even talk about it back there. … I’ve never seen anything like it,” said UFC president Dana White.

“He’s absolutely positively talented, he’s special, he’s different. At 17 years old, you just don’t see kids that age handle themselves like that.”

“Since I was born, I knew this was going to happen, so everybody should not be surprised,” an elated Rosas Jr. said. “I am the new king here, and I’m going for that belt .”

.”

Rosas Jr. finished his night by vowing to become a UFC champion by age 20.

Rosas Jr.’s historic moment capped an evening that featured five UFC contract winners. Every winner of Tuesday’s event got their ticket to MMA’s largest promotion.

In the night’s main event, 29-year-old middleweight Brunno Ferreira (9-0) needed just 95 seconds to knock out Leon Aliu (10-2) with a relentless flurry of looping shots.

“I’m ‘Hulk,'” Ferreira said afterward. “I can do this.”

“Remember the name.

“Remember the name. I’ll smash everyone in the division .”

The night also saw the reappearance of a familiar face, as heavyweight slugger Austen Lane (12-3) returned more than four years after his Contender Series loss to Greg Hardy.

A 34-year-old former NFL player, Lane made the best of his second effort, knocking out previously unbeaten Richard Jacobi (6-1-1) with a salvo of first-round punches. After getting taken down and mounted early, Lane reversed the position and smashed his grounded foe with repeated punches from a standing position, securing a finish at 4:34 of Round 1.

” I was content with this. I had some adversity, that’s [the story] of my whole fight career,” Lane said. We won. And now we’re here.”

In other action, Nurullo Aliev (7-0) ran a metaphorical steamroller over Josh Wick (12-6), demolishing the veteran with a barrage of punches from top position at 4:36 of the first round.

A 22-year-old lightweight fighting out of Tajikistan, Aliev just needed a single takedown to signal the beginning of the end and outclass Wick under his stifling top control.

“My country is 93 percent mountains. Aliev stated that he is a mountain eagle and a real mountain eagle. Aliev was referring to Khabib Nurmagomedov, former UFC lightweight champion. I’m a problem for the lightweight division. Next week [for a] I will be ready .”

The night’s final contract went to Jafel Filho (14-2), a 29-year-old flyweight who handed Roybert Echeverria (7-1) the first loss of his career with a devastating third-round knockout.

After a back-and-forth scrap that saw him suffer substantial damage from Echeverria’s leg kicks, Filho downed Echeverria out of nowhere with a massive counter left hand, then inked his UFC deal with follow-up punches at the 1:31 mark of Round 3.

“My leg was hurting, but my hand wasn’t,” Filho said afterward with a smile.

View complete Contender series results.

• Brunno Ferreira def. Leon Aliu via TKO (punches) at 1:35 of Round 1
• Raul Rosas Jr. def. Mando Gutierrez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Austen Lane def. Richard Jacobi via TKO (punches) at 4:34 of Round 1
• Nurullo Aliev def. Josh Wick via TKO (punches) at 4:36 of Round 1
• Jafel Filho def. Roybert Echeverria via TKO (punches) at 3:13 of Round 3