18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr will make history this Saturday as he becomes the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC.
Rosas faces Jay Perrin on the preliminary card of UFC 282, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ‘El Nino Problema’ earned himself a UFC contract in September by winning a one-sided decision against Mando Gutierrez on the Contender Series, with Dana White insisting he’d never seen a fighter like Rosas before following his win.
The bantamweight prospect, who is in his senior year at high school, first walked into a karate gym as a four-year-old and had his first fight four years later. Along with brother Jesse, who is two years older than Raul, the pair trained MMA for fun but soon realised they could both go far in the sport. Rosas had just two amateur fights before turning professional and has since amassed a record of 5-0.
