Now with three consecutive wins in the UFC octagon, 19-year-old Mexican star Raul Rosas Jr believes his hype train is back on the right tracks; but he’ll need to land bigger and bigger names if he is to continue his ascent up the bantamweight rankings.
Luckily, ‘El Nino Problema’ believes that he is now ready for an opponent who is ranked in the Top 15 of the division, with the possibility of breaking Jon Jones’ record for youngest champion in UFC history still front and center.
Raul Rosas Jr asks the UFC to ‘challenge’ him with a ranked opponent
After suffering a unanimous decision loss to Christian Rodriguez in April 2023, Raul Rosas Jr has rattled off three consecutive wins in the UFC octagon – a TKO of Terrence Mitchell, a submission of Ricky Turcios, and a decision of his own against Aoriqileng at UFC 306 last weekend.
Now, the 10-1 prospect believes that he’s ready for the biggest challenge of his fledgling career, a fight against someone ranked in the Top 15 of the bantamweight division.
“The thing about me is that I like challenges, I want a challenge, [and] I want to test myself,” he told Hablemos MMA, explaining how with each passing fight under the bright lights of the UFC banner, he feels more and more at home.
“Now I feel very comfortable being in the cage, and I keep getting more comfortable every time I step in there – I feel comfortable fighting a Top 15 opponent… Personally, I know I’m ready, but even if I’m not ready, I’ll figure out a way to be ready for that date and opponent.
“I can do more than just win, but actually finish and impress everyone; more importantly the UFC can keep giving me fights toward the belt. That’s why I asked for somebody ranked. Either way, if I don’t get someone in the rankings, I want somebody that gets me a ranked opponent.”
As of September 2024, the final five ranked fighters at 135lbs include Tagir Ulanbekov, Bruno Silva, Cody Durden, Asu Almabayev, and Matt Schnell.
Only one of those five fighters is currently on a losing streak, Matt Schnell, although ‘Danger’ appeared to retire from the sport after his most recent loss earlier this month.
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“Against anyone really – I just care about getting the opportunity,” Rosas continued.
“There’s no one specific right now. All I want is the title. I want the title, so whatever fight takes me closer, that’s the fight I want.”
Raul Rosas Jr explains why he called for $50K bonus after a decision win
Despite the unanimous decision win over Aoriqileng being a dominant display, fans were quick to criticize the young fighter for calling for a $50K Performance of the Night bonus.
Speaking to MMAFighting, Rosas Jr would explain how whilst the call for $50K was a natural slip-up, there was an argument that he deserved the bonus for bringing in the crowd as soon as The Sphere doors opened.
“I’m used to getting finishes and asking for it after, it just came out, you know? Either way, the argument that I did deserve it, don’t get me wrong it was a unanimous decision so obviously, I’m OK with not getting it because I should have got a finish.
“My argument would be that people showed up because of me, that event was packed was because of me, because I was on the prelims so with them putting me on the first fight of the prelims got people to show up [early].”
Raul Rosas Jr is now 10-1 as a professional and is 4-1 in the UFC.