Over the last two decades, The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been home to some of the most spectacular athletes of our time. The promotion has been setting stages for a range of athletes, right from controversial fighters to well-decorated champions. Bantamweight star Raul Rosas Jr. is one such promising fighter with dreams of becoming the youngest UFC champion.
Rosas Jr. is scheduled to fight Christian Rodriguez as the opener to the UFC 287 main card. The 18-year-old prospect will share the main card with Miami’s own Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred‘ is a veteran in the game while competing for almost 2 decades now. The former title challenger will lock horns against Gilbert Burns in front of his home crowd.
Aside from giving words of wisdom to up-and-coming athletes, Jorge also provides a platform for them to perform on. The Miami resident wears the promoter hat with his ventures of Gamebred FC, Gamebred Boxing, and iKon FC. Recently, Gamebred Boxing 4 hosted several fan-favorite boxing matches in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
During the media scrum at UFC 287, a reporter asked Jorge if he would like to share any piece of advice for the youngest star on the card, Raul Rosas Jr.
In response, Masvidal said, “Train, train, train and train. And just when you think you’ve trained a lot, train some more. Forget about the world, forget about the outside s**t. This sport is very demanding and the only way you fly is by staying in shape. And the way you stay in shape is not by putting Instagram posts. It’s about getting after it you know? You’re in the gym in the morning, in the mid-day, and in the night.”
“You find some time for recovery and then you repeat that the next day. Then you cross your fingers and you hope that all this hard work you put in pays off in the fight. It’s just, man, put your hard hat on, put your mouthpiece on, and get to work,” finished Masvidal.
Raul Rosas Jr.’s MMA career so far
Raul Rosas Jr. is a fresh face that has captivated the MMA audience lately. Several fans on the internet have taken a jibe at his appearance. However, his in-cage work speaks for itself. The 18-year-old boasts an amateur MMA record of 2-0 and a professional record of 7-0. Ever since his promotional debut, ‘El Nino Problema‘ has had his name attached to all kinds of age-based records.
Born on 8 October 2004 in Clovis, New Mexico, Raul started competing in the regional scene, while continuing to add skills to his young arsenal. Soon after, the UFC brass locked their eyes on him which resulted in a chance to prove himself in the Contender Series. His 3-round performance was enough to convince the boss Dana White to gift him a UFC contract, making him the youngest athlete under the promotion.
Raul debuted at UFC 282 in December 2022 against Jay Perrin. He had grabbed several fighters’ attention by this time. Rosas Jr. had a flawless night at the office when he secured a neck-crank submission victory in the very first round. He looks to extend his perfect record of 7-0 against a very tough Christian Rodriguez in the opening bout of UFC 287’s main card.
Earlier this year, EA added Rosas Jr. to their video game UFC 4‘s as a playable character. It is a feat that not many fighters have been able to achieve yet, despite being with the company for years.