Rising UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr. has long expressed his title ambitions, and he expects to achieve them at the expense of another highly touted prospect down the line.
Rosas Jr. broke on to the scene in 2022 as the youngest fighter to ever sign a contract with the mixed martial arts leader. And he followed success on Dana White’s Contender Series with an Octagon debut win that very same year, submitting Jay Perrin at UFC 282.
Although his sophomore outing didn’t quite go to plan courtesy of Christian Rodriguez’s own talents and planned rise toward contention, “El Niño Problema” has since returned to winning ways with a 54-second knockout of Terrence Mitchell last September and second-round submission of Ricky Turcios at the UFC Fight Night in Louisville last month.
All the while, the now-19-year-old bantamweight has vowed to make a quick ascent to the throne that will leave him as the promotion’s youngest-ever champion, surpassing Jon Jones in that regard.
Rosas Jr. no doubt has some major challenges ahead of him if he’s to achieve that goal, and judging by who he expects to be holding the gold at the time, that includes the final step...
Rosas Jr. Predicts Nurmagomedov Showdown For The Title
During an interview with MMA Crazy at UFC X during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Rosas Jr. reiterated his lofty ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage, the next step toward which he hopes comes at the Sphere this fall.
When asked what he expects the state of the title picture to look like upon his arrival down the line, the Mexican-American prospect named Umar Nurmagomedov as the man he believes will have the crown in his possession.
I see myself winning my next fight at the Sphere, and it’s just going to get me closer to the belt,” Rosas Jr. said. “Depending on how often I can fight and who I can fight, I think I can get it done pretty soon. ... Probably (against) Umar Nurmagomedov. I think he’ll have the belt when I get there.
Despite that prediction, however, he seemingly isn’t expecting the Dagestani to reach the throne soon. When asked about his upcoming showdown with Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi next month, Rosas Jr. backed “The Sandman” to stall Nurmagomedov’s rise.
He’s a beast, but Cory Sandhagen’s a beast too,” Rosas Jr. said. “I’m going to have to go with Cory Sandhagen.
Nurmagomedov is currently unbeaten at 17-0 in his professional career, with five of this wins coming under the UFC banner. After most recently escaping a scare against newcomer Bekzat Almakhan, “The Young Eagle” has the chance to stake his claim for a first title shot.
To do so, the Russian standout must get past a former interim title challenger and top five contender in Sandhagen, whom he’ll share the Octagon with for a five-round UFC Fight Night headliner in Abu Dhabi on August 3.