17-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. Makes UFC history
The new breed also is good for the sport.
Hey Guys,
I wish Mixed martial arts was about young people competing only up until their body permitted them to do so, say a mandatory retirement by the age of 33. I think that is also the trend with a rare exception of a 17-year old winning a UFC contract on DWCS 55.
Too many times we have to witness older beloved fighters getting KO’ed in their 30s or later 30s and it’s an ugly side of the sport, it should not actually be happening.
Enter a 17-year-old, Raul Rosas Jr. who is the youngest fight to win a DWCS fight audition to get his ticket to the UFC, unanimously believed to be the greatest MMA promotion in the world.
This is a very rare achievement.
Rosas (5-0), who is just 17, signed Monday to fight Sept. 20 on Dana White’s Contender Series against fellow bantamweight Mando Gutierrez (7-1) in August, 2022 and he won.
He’s an entire two years younger than the previous younger winner of the show. When Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alumni Chase Hooper entered the UFC at age 19 in Dec. 2019, he made history by being the youngest fighter ever to be signed by head honcho Dana White.
This trend to younger fighter is really good for the sport, since these kids both young men and women have often been training since they are 10 in BJJ, wrestling, Muay Thai and Boxing from the beginning. This means this is the first generation of MMA athletes who are well-rounded from the beginning of their careers, it’s a whole different level compared to just the last decade.
The New Breed
Their conditioning, power, athleticism and fundamentals is at a whole different level as well as their coaching, nutrition, fitness, mental psychology and preparation.
The 17-year-old bantamweight became the youngest UFC fighter in history on Tuesday September 18th, 2022, inking a full-time deal with the promotion after a win in his co-headlining Contender Series bout against Mando Gutierrez, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
It was a real moment for the sport.
17-year-old Raul “El Niño Problema” Rosas Jr. seems well-rounded. Hopefully the UFC doesn’t throw him to the wolves.
Many of his highlights come in the grabbling and BJJ department:
The undefeated bantamweight teen hails from Santa Rosa, CA, and trains out of 10th Planet Las Vegas. All of Rosas Jr.’s professional MMA bouts have been in Mexico’s UWC promotion, where he has accumulated four submission victories and one knockout, resulting in a perfect finish rate.
The UFC coincidentally needs more Mexican stars. Nothing is by accident in this promotion. There is no way the Nick Diaz pre-right antics were not staged. That is just my opinion, above all this is a business.
The Kids are Alright in MMA
As dominant as Holloway was when he was a young entry with his boxing back in the day, Rosas Jr. is a problem on the ground. “Blessed” made his UFC debut at 19, as well, and was humiliated in the form of a dominant first-round submission loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 143.
The Mexico native out-grappled Gutierrez (7-2) in all three rounds and showcased a creative style, nearly pulling off a Suloev stretch attempt in Round 1 and taking his 25-year-old foe down in the second frame with a particularly gorgeous sequence off a faked flying knee. It was an impressive all-around performance — and one that showed Rosas Jr. (6-0) may actually be a force in the UFC before long.
Usually if you enter a sport of adults as a teenager it means you are a prodigy and somewhat talented.
I found the story of the youngest new entry into the UFC quite compelling. Namely because fighting should be a sport of equally youthful athletes, not aging superstars prone to lopsided defeats. That’s not good for the sport nor for the fans, nor for the safety of the stars.
In order to be licensed by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which oversees the Contender Series at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, fighters must be 18-38 years of age. However, according to NAC 467.017, special licenses may be granted to those outside the age range with special commission approval.
What I enjoy about MMA, is there are so many styles and so many athletes that come and go, the style matchups are truly intriguing, even if you don’t bet on these things. I never personally do sports betting.
Raul Rosas Jr. is yet another great addition to the fan-favorite DWCS show.
Bantamweight is such an exciting weight class due to the speed of the athletes. Relative to other weights, it’s a rare blend of speed and power in the male category.
I’m not sure if Raul will reach the top 10 anytime soon, but this division is a bit aged.
Still Petr Yan and Yadong Song won’t age any time soon, but I’m not really sure about the rest on this list, most are definitely in the twilight of their careers and belong to another generation.
In this MMA business the future doesn’t always wait, sometimes it comes all too soon.