Rising Mexican star Raul Rosas Jr has been called out for a fight in The Sphere for Mexican Independence Day, by one of the biggest winners from UFC Vegas 90.
On a night when eight of the 12 scheduled bouts went the distance, UFC Vegas 90 also featured the debut of a young superstar in the making, who earned the ninth finish of his ‘perfect’ professional career last night.
24-year-old prospect earns statement win at UFC Vegas 90
After making his way to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, Jean Matsumoto earned the biggest win of his professional career to date last night at UFC Vegas 90.
The 24-year-old Brazilian certainly left it late, wrapping up a guillotine choke (the third of his professional career) and submitting Dan Argueta with just one second before the end of the second round.
With the statement victory at UFC Vegas 90, Matsumoto improves his record to 15-0 with three wins coming by way of knockout, six by submission, and six victories via the judges’ scorecards.
Jean Matsumoto calls for Raul Rosas Jr in The Sphere
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, via MMA Junkie, Matsumoto revealed that he actually found fighting at the UFC Apex “better because of no pressure” – but also added that his next bout needs to be in front of a live crowd.
“Honestly, I’m a better fighter with the crowd. I’ve heard that there’s a huge event coming to Vegas at The Sphere for Mexican Independence Day, and I would love to be part of that show.”
Matsumoto had one name in mind for who he’d like to face in The Sphere, fellow rising prospect Raul Rosas Jr: “He’s a Mexican guy, he’s a really good fighter, very tough guy. I would love to fight him, it could be three rounds or five rounds I don’t care – I want to fight him there.”
“I believe that he’s going to try and take me down like Argueta did, but maybe not as much because his striking is a little bit better than Argueta. If he makes 135lbs then let’s do it, I’m ready to go.”
The talented Brazilian youngster aptly noted that “it would be a really good fight for the UFC to promote” since he remains undefeated as a professional “and he [Rosas Jr] has a lot of hype behind him.”
“If everybody agrees then I’m ready to go. Just call me.”
Raul Rosas Jr had a rough start to 2024 and is in need of an opponent
After losing his undefeated record to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 298, Raul Rosas Jr bounced back to earn a stunning round-one KO victory over Terrence Mitchell in September 2023.
‘El Nino Problema’ was then matched up with The Ultimate Fighter alumni Ricky Turcios for UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Royval 2 in Mexico City, but Rosas Jr was forced to withdraw from the contest only minutes before the walkout with illness.
Whilst the broadcast team stated that the bout would be rebooked for the following week’s Fight Night event at the UFC Apex, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the rebooking, and the fight was ultimately canceled.
This means that Rosas Jr is currently looking for his next opponent and with the consensus being that he should return for Mexican Independence Day, a fight against undefeated Matsumoto would certainly be a fabulous bout to add to that UFC 306 PPV in September.