18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr hasn't even made his UFC debut but is confident he could beat bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
Rosas will make history in his fight against Jay Perrin at UFC 282 on Saturday night as he becomes the youngest fighter to compete in the promotion. The record has been held for 16 years by Dan Lauzon, who competed at UFC 64 as an 18-year-old and despite Rosas being the same age, he will be four months younger than Lauzon was when he achieved the feat.
Sterling has reigned as the bantamweight champion since winning the belt against Petr Yan last March in controversial fashion, but 'Funkmaster' has since defended the title against Yan and TJ Dillashaw. Rosas gave a bold prediction when asked about a fight between him and Sterling, as he thinks he would finish the champion.
"I feel comfortable fighting with anybody. I know I’ve still got to get better but even right now, if I was to fight the UFC champion, I know I would take him out. Not only win, but finish him. I keep getting better and better, but even at this level I can beat anybody," Rosas told Mirror Fighting.
Rosas thinks he can win his first UFC title at the age of 20 and is also confident he can win belts in other weight classes. The 18-year-old isn't bothered by the pressure of making his UFC debut on a pay-per-view card as he insists that he performs better in front of big crowds due to his exciting style.
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"I’m ready to be on the big stage, so I’m glad I’m fighting on the pay-per-view card. I’ve been putting a lot of work in and the UFC put me in because I’m going to go and finish this guy. If there’s anybody to put on the pay-per-view card, it’s someone like me because I’m a showman," Rosas added.
"When I fight, I enter the matrix, I fight to win for myself but to also be an entertainer and do some crazy s*** just to hype the crowd up. You can even watch my grappling matches, other people's are boring because people just sit down and pull guard but none of mine have ever been boring. I'm very creative with my style and I'm good and fighting with the crowd because of that."
