Raul Rosas Jr. has made no secret of his desire to break Jon Jones’ record as the youngest UFC champion in the promotion’s history ever since he secured his contract through Dana White’s Contender Series at the tender age of 17.
With his first round submission victory against Jay Perrin at UFC 282 on Saturday night, the hype around the 18 year-old fighter has reached a fever pitch.
“I feel really happy but not satisfied. ‘and get what I really want, which is a title,” Rosas said.
“… The victory came out as planned, right? But what I’m saying is I still don’t have what I want. What I want is the belt right here with me. So I’m still not satisfied. I’m happy with my performance tonight, but I’m still not satisfied until that belt is wrapped around my waist.”
“Right now all I see is gold,” Rosas said.
“I don’t really know any names outside of the top 15. Whoever I have to get through to get to that belt, I’m gonna get through.”
Rosas, in his UFC debut, appeared quite professional, even though he was facing a fighter nine years older than himself. Of all, Rosas’ first opponent wasn’t necessary chosen to be Perrin so that he could face his greatest test possible. Still, he was just 18 years old, and he fought in front of thousands of admirers who, judging from their cheers, clearly adored him.
“UFC jitters are absolutely real. It happens to all the guys,” White said.
“I don’t care how good you are, how confident you are, all that stuff. It’s a real thing, and he overcame it tonight at a very young age. There’s a hysterical meme that people were sending me tonight of him in school next week. It’s pretty funny. But when you try to wrap your head around that and think about the tremendous pressure that this kid must be under to come in and fight in the UFC, it’s awesome.”
