Raul Rosas Jr. pulled off a remarkable victory against Terrence Mitchell at Noche UFC this past weekend. It took him less than a minute, precisely 54 seconds, to claim a TKO victory.
Rosas Jr. is an 18-year-old prodigy in the UFC and he faced his first loss in professional MMA against Christian Rodriguez in April. Fans eagerly awaited his bout against Mitchell to see how the teenager would respond to his first loss.
Daniel Cormier, who took Rosas Jr.’s post-match interview, wanted to know the same. He asked Rosas Jr., “Raul, you fought almost angry in there. What led to that? After suffering your first loss that is the way you bounce back.”
However, Cormier was disappointed with himself as his first question to Rosas Jr. was about his previous loss. While reflecting on it, Cormeir said, “He destroyed Terence Mitchell and it was phenomenal to see because you never know how a kid at 18 years old will respond. With that being said I feel like I didn’t do him justice by bringing up the loss as the first question.
I feel like I should have led with something better opposed to how he got over the adversity. Now, for me, I’ve dealt with a ton of adversity so I want to know that. But, in reality, I should have been in there to uplift Raul Rosas Jr. I shouldn’t have brought up his losses, so, for that, my bad. I shouldn’t have done it. My apologies.”
El Niño Problemo was in high spirits after the match. He pocketed $50,000 as a bonus for his Performance of the Night award.
Raul Rosas Jr. believes he has the potential to be a UFC great
Rosas Jr. made his UFC debut in December 2022 against Jay Perrin at the age of 17. He defeated Perrin in the first round via submission at UFC 282. His next UFC bout came in April at UFC 287 where he lost against Rodriguez. The US-born Bantamweight fighter has shown great potential and he believes he will achieve greatness.
“I’m different,” Rosas Jr. told the media after his fight at Noche UFC. “I have a potential to be a superstar [and] break all these records, so I’m blessed. I’m just being myself. And I’m blessed that I am the way I am. And I know I have the potential to become one of the biggest superstars of the company.”“I just gotta live day by day and focus on one goal and then go after another. Right now, it is just come back, have another amazing performance, climb up the ladder, and go from there.”
Rosas Jr. now holds an 8-1 record in professional MMA and a 2-1 record in the UFC. He hopes to fight again this year. It will be interesting to see how the teenager takes on his next opponent.
