17-Year-Old Raul Rosas Jr. Impresses in DWCS Win
Raul Rosas Jr. lived up to the hype Tuesday night as the 17-year-old made UFC history by becoming the youngest fighter to sign with the promotion following his win on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS).
The young fighter impressed the world in his unanimous decision win over Mando Gutierrez. Rosas dominated the 25-year-old for all three rounds, displaying extremely strong jiu-jitsu and wrestling. More importantly, though, Rosas impressed UFC President Dana White and was awarded a contract to fight in the UFC.
When asked about “El Nino Problema” following the five fights, White had nothing but praise to say about the kid in his post-fight press conference.
“Both guys pushed themselves as hard as they could. And for a 17-year-old to conduct himself in the way he did in this fight, I was blown away by it,” White said. “After what I just saw this kid is ready to fight in the UFC.”
In his sixth professional fight in just under a year, Rosas could not have done more to impress the UFC head man. Comments from fighters all over social media were pouring in during the second to last fight of an exciting night on DWCS.
The praise of Rosas was so much so that White even commented on how his phone was blowing up during Rosas’s fight.
“I’m very, very impressed with this kid. He’s absolutely special,” White said. “The amount of fighters that were blowing me up going, ‘Oh my God. This kid is for real. This kid is legit. Impressive.’”
One fighter who commented on the teenager’s performance was current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling who has high expectations for the young Rosas.
While it would be extremely impressive to see Rosas as a champion by the time he is 25, he has his eyes on becoming the champion much sooner.
“[This was] another step closer to my dream of becoming the youngest UFC champion,” Rosas said in his post-fight interview. “I’m here for a reason you know. I knew [White] was going to give me that contract, you know, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
There was some doubt about his age being a factor, but he shut the critics up and never once looked like a younger, less experienced fighter than his opponent.
Confidence is key, and Rosas seems to have an abundance of it following a historic night on the DWCS. He mentioned that he is ready to get going and wants to fight again as soon as the next UFC event.
It will be interesting to see who Rosas will be matched up with when he does make his UFC debut, but no matter who stands across the octagon from him, it will be must-watch television as he possesses some of the highest potential for a UFC prospect ever.
Remember the name Raul Rosas Jr. He is going to be a fighter to watch for many years to come and will be a UFC champion one day.
***
Check out the Vendetta Twitch!!
SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube!!
