Raul Rosas Jr. thinks he is ready for a Top 15 opponent next.
Rosas made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the age of 17, the youngest in the history of the promotion. After a first-round submission win over Jay Perrin in his debut at UFC 282 in 2022, Rosas suffered his lone pro loss in an upset against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in 2023.
Rosas has since racked up a three-fight winning streak including two finishes. Rosas most recently earned a unanimous decision win over bantamweight veteran Qileng Aori at UFC 306 on Sept. 14. The 19-year-old now believes he is ready for ranked opponents. If he can’t immediately get a ranked opponent, “El Nino Problema” wants someone who can get him closer to Top 15 opposition.
“Personally, I know I’m ready. But even if I’m not ready, I’ll figure out a way to be ready for that date and opponent,” Rosas told MMAjunkie.com. “If I’m ready, which I think I am, I can still get even more ready, so I can do more than just win, but actually finish and impress everyone, but more importantly the UFC so they can keep giving me fights toward the belt. That’s why I asked for somebody ranked. Either way, if I don’t get someone in the rankings, I want somebody that gets me a ranked opponent.”
Rosas doesn’t have any preference of opponents and just wants fights that will help him move up the ladder towards his eventual goal of becoming a champ.
“Against anyone really – I just care about getting the opportunity,” he said. “There’s no one specific right now. All I want is the title. I want the title, so whatever fight takes me closer, that’s the fight I want.”
