17 Year Old Raul Rosas Jr shines at The DWCS to become the youngest fighter under a UFC contract
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Dana expressed a bright future for the young fighter
Raul Rosas Jr was among the most anticipated fighters on Dana White’s Contender Series this week but it was not due to any prior achievement but just his age. At 17 Rosas stood a chance to become the youngest fighter on the UFC roster and he capitalized on it.
While many fans were doubtful of the ethics involved in letting a legal minor fight, Dana White feels the opposite way and is in fact very excited to see where the road heads for Rosas. Walking into DWCS with a 5-0 record all by way of finishes, Rosas definitely could be relied upon to put up a show and he did just that during his first-ever fight to go the distance against Mando Gutierrez.
He earned a unanimous decision victory over his opponent and added his name among the rare list of fighters who are awarded a contract based. While many want him to sign a developmental contract instead, Rosas himself is confident that with his current skill set alone, he will be able to beat a UFC champion.
Dana White excited to sign Raul Rosas Jr despite his young age
In the post-fight press conference, Dana showed no hesitation about his decision to sign the 17-year-old. Thanks to his grappling acumen he was able to easily subdue Gutirezz who was always trying to catch up to him or asses what Rosas was doing to counter it.
The 2 round fight saw the young fighter get into many scrambles, and attempt multiple submissions even slipping in an ultimately unsuccessful Suloev stretch. This type of dominance and utterly neutralizing his opponent until the very end ensured he’d have an easy victory on the scorecards.
All three judges scored the contest a unanimous 30-27, with Dana announcing he’s be signed to the UFC. Telling Laura Sanko prior to the contract announcements that the kid was “positively talented” Dana said, “He’s different. At 17 years old you just don’t see kids handling themselves like that.”
Though many still believe Rosas needs more time to develop, White is confident after his performance on the contender series that he’s ready for the UFC. In the past, the UFC threw some of its most touted talents to the wolves too soon which derailed their career horribly.
A prominent example of this was Sage Northcutt. Another one includes Chase Hooper who was also matched up against more experienced fighters while still in his late teens only to be outclassed soon. He has however managed to rebuild and rebound from these losses, the same cannot be said for Sage.
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)