Raul Rosas Jr. is the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC, the youngest fighter to win in the UFC, and if his projections are accurate, he’ll be the youngest UFC champion by a mile.
At UFC 282 in Las Vegas this past Saturday, Rosas wowed fans and fighters alike with a dominant first-round submission win of Jay Perrin to close out the evening’s preliminary card. The win came just two months after Rosas’ 18th birthday and three months after he earned a contract on Dana White‘s Contender Series as a 17-year-old.
Rosas made his debut on The MMA Hour . He set his sights on winning the bantamweight title.
” I don’t know the plans, but they want to speed up me since I’m prepared,” Rosas stated. Like I stated, if they offer me the fight for the UFC title right now, then I am ready to go and win. However, I also have the ability to finish Aljamain Sterling, who is currently holding the belt.
“That’s why my pro career, that’s what I’m saying, I didn’t take it slowly. I fought months back to back so I could be here. But if I knew that I wasn’t on the level, if I didn’t have nothing to offer to the table, I would have fought every four months, that way I could improve. The reason I’m fighting so actively — including the Dana White Contender Series not that long ago — I decided to make my UFC debut already because I’m ready for it all. If I knew I wasn’t on that level and I couldn’t hang with these fools — I’m not even looking at anybody, all I see is gold. If I know that I can’t be champion, I would slow down a little bit, but I know I can be champion right now if I was to fight for the belt right now. This is why I’m taking my career so quick, because I know I have everything to win that belt right now.”
Hearing such a claim from any fighter with just one UFC win to their name would be eye-opening enough, much less from a prospect like Rosas who isn’t old enough to legally drink nor rent a car. But Rosas has backed up his talk with action so far, fighting seven times since turning pro in November 2021 and finishing all but one of his opponents.
Rosas was asked if he felt Sterling could be defeated, and he didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Yes,” Rosas said. Rosas said, “I don’t just say things to make it sound good. All that I have to say is truthful and many people doubt my belief in it. But I do believe in myself, and I just want to prove it.
“[A title fight is] likely not going to occur [next], because people don’t know if it’s possible, but I do know that I can. So I’m being proactive and finishing everybody in an impressive manner so that everyone can see that I’m really ready to take on the title .”
Should Rosas pull off the seemingly impossible and win a title within the next couple of years, he’ll easily beat the record for youngest UFC champion, currently held by former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was 23 years and 242 days old when he won a belt off of Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 in March 2011.
Outside of competing for a championship, Rosas didn’t have a name in mind for his next fight, but he’s eager to fight a ranked opponent and prove that age is nothing but a number.
“I can definitely take a fight with a bantamweight top 15 and I promise I can finish,” Rosas said. Rosas stated, “You don’t just have to win. You also need to win well and be a leader .
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/12/23506119/raul-rosas-jr-confident-beat-ufc-champion-aljamain-sterling-right-now-i-can-finish-whoever-has-belt?rand=96749
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