Raul Rosas Jr., an 18-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum, swiftly bounced back from the first loss of his mixed martial arts career. He made an impressive comeback at UFC Fight Night 227, defeating Terrence Mitchell via technical knockout in just 54 seconds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. This performance was much needed after Rosas’s loss to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in April.
Rosas’s Confidence and Skill Set
Rosas expressed confidence in his abilities, despite his previous loss. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, he said, “[I] never had any doubts about my skills. The only thing that loss changed was my record, and tonight I showed that nothing has changed.” Against Mitchell, Rosas demonstrated a different skill set than his typical wrestling style. He dropped his opponent with a powerful punch, finishing the contest with ground-and-pound on the canvas. Rosas proudly stated, “My grappling and my timing was on point. If it touched the ground, I knew I was going to find the submission. We put in a lot of work. I’ve been working lots of grappling… I’ve evolved from the last fight. [I] showed my improvements and I was able to do it tonight.”
Future Superstar Potential
As the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, Rosas has received considerable attention in the early days of his fighting career. However, he doesn’t shy away from expectations and believes in his potential to become a superstar. “I’m different,” Rosas said. “I have the potential to be a superstar and break all these records. I’m just being myself, and I’m blessed that I am the way I am. I know I have potential to become one of the biggest superstars of the company.”
There will likely be more challenges for Rosas as his career progresses, but he is willing to take the necessary steps to achieve his goals. “I just got to live day by day,” Rosas said. “Focus on one goal and then go after another. Right now it’s just come back, have another amazing performance, climb up the ladder, and then go from there.” With his determination and skills, Rosas is certainly a fighter to watch in the coming years.