The UFC’s youngest-ever fighter displayed some outrageous talent during a jiu-jitsu training session this month.
Raul Rosas Jr, the 19-year-old rising star, revealed ahead of his fight at UFC 306 that he dreams of becoming the promotion’s youngest-ever champion in order to retire from MMA by the age of 25.
Rosas Jr. has finished his UFC opponents via submission on two separate occasionsGetty
If he can transfer the mesmerising skills on display from one of his latest training videos into the octagon, then that doesn’t seem like a far-fetched statement.
‘El Nino Problema’ has rebounded since losing his one and only UFC fight last April.
He has finished two successive fights before defeating Qileng Aori via unanimous decision in Las Vegas on the Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili undercard.
And there hasn’t been any rest for the American, as footage has emerged of him successfully executing one of the hardest submissions in MMA to his opponent with ease.
The video shows Rosas Jr landing the perfect flying armbar, made famous by MMA legend Demetrious Johnson in 2017.
The Californian taunts his partner as if he is playing basketball, before jumping up and grabbing his neck, while perfectly locking his legs to separate his opponent’s arm away.
You don’t have to turn the volume up to hear the poor man yell in agony as he reaches the floor.
The submission practice is similar to an iconic move Johnson once produced in a UFC title fight.
‘Mighty Mouse’ broke the record for consecutive title defenses in Dana White’s promotion when he submitted Ray Borg at UFC 216 with a flying arm bar to retain his flyweight title.
It was so good that renowned UFC commentator Joe Rogan said it was one of the ‘wildest submissions he’s ever seen’ in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Johnson himself.
Rosas Jr was awarded with a $50K bonus after his fight with PerrinGetty
California’s Rosas Jr became the youngest UFC fighter of all time at the age of 18 when he faced Jay Perrin at UFC 282 in December, 2022. Not only did he compete, but he won in the first round, submitting Perrin with a neck crank.
He was originally signed to the company after wowing UFC President Dana White in the Contender Series – which is often used as a contract route to the company for prospects – where he beat Mando Gutierrez.
But it hasn’t all been a clear path for the young man, who almost died before getting into MMA.
Rosas Jr’s warrior-like qualities means he rarely complains when his body meets pain. This caused a burst appendix to go unnoticed when he was only seven years old, leaving his family clueless to the severity of a stomach ache he was experiencing at the time.
Not only did Rosas Jr recover from the near-death experience but he would go on to compete in an MMA tournament just weeks after making a full recovery, showing the diamond in the rough that he really is.
Rosas Jr is now ready to take a big step in his UFC career, as he insists on getting a ranked opponent for his next fight in the stacked bantamweight division.
