Bantamweight prospect Raul Rosas Jr made a statement at UFC Louisville last night, and the 19-year-old superstar still has big plans for 2024.
Despite earning himself a sweet extra $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus at UFC Louisville last night, rising star Raul Rosas Jr has some big plans for the rest of the year as he chases not only bigger payouts but a long-standing promotional record.
Raul Rosas Jr wants to return at The Sphere for UFC 306
After 19-year-old Mexican superstar Raul Rosas Jr secured a second-round submission victory over The Ultimate Fighter alumni Ricky Turcios in Kentucky, ‘El Nino Problema’ chose not to call anyone out specifically but instead demanded a place on the UFC 306 card later this year.
“I don’t know who but September at The Sphere baby, let’s go,” he told Paul Felder in the octagon, with UFC 306 set for The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14; in accordance with Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
“I think I should be getting the big-money fights, not to sound cocky or anything but I think a lot of people tuned in tonight to watch my fight specifically,” he later told Full Send MMA.
“I was a lot of people’s main event in their books so having that support when I’m barely 3-1 in the UFC is crazy – I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like growing as a fighter, especially being at The Sphere for my next fight.”
The 19-year-old explained how fighting at such a stunning arena as The Sphere “is going to be insane,” adding how he can’t wait to see how the Mexican-majority crowd reacts to him walking out as one of the country’s best young prospects.
Yet Rosas Jr has more than purse strings on his mind, as there’s a long-standing UFC record that is already in his sights.
“I want to be the youngest UFC champion and I think that I’m on the right path, 3-1 in the UFC at 19 years old, a lot of experience – I feel like I’m blessed, and I just want to keep fighting.”
Raul Rosas Jr was stunned by the crowd support at UFC Louisville
The submission was met with arguably the loudest cheer out of the entire night from the Louisville crowd, who stunned Rosas Jr by chanting some choice words toward their fellow American in Turcios.
“The crowd was crazy, I just knew that I had to bring the high energy for this fight and the crowd did as well – I’ve never been in a fight where they’ve been chanting to my opponent very not nice things,” he explained.
“They were singing ‘F*** you Ricky’, I could hear that while me and Ricky were going at it and I was like ‘Oh s***, that’s crazy.’…
“Since from the beginning to the end, the whole time in every single scramble I would just hear ‘F*** you Ricky’ – like damn, I guess the crowd really doesn’t like Ricky.
“I would have expected this from Mexico City, [because] they’re crazy people,” teased the budding prospect, before adding “But out here in Louisville, it’s not known for a lot of Mexicans so getting that support was crazy to me.”
Interestingly, Rosas Jr also revealed at the post-fight press conference that Turcios admitted to having a staph infection during Fight Week, although he doesn’t want to tolerate any excuses from his UFC Louisville opponent.
With the victory, Rosas Jr moves to 9-1 as a professional.