Raul Rosas Jr. has had a ton of hype surrounding him given his age.
The 18-year-old had an impressive UFC debut late last year, submitting Jay Perrin in the first round. Rosas ended up suffering the first pro MMA loss of his career in his next bout, dropping a unanimous decision to Christian Rodriguez.
Raul Rosas Jr. Talks First Pro MMA Loss
MMA Junkie interviewed Raul Rosas during International Fight Week. Rosas explained what went wrong in the fight against Rodriguez.
“Nothing changed,” Rosas said. “The only thing that changed was my record and the people around me. I took a lot of stuff out of it. Of course, nobody likes to lose so I’m not gonna say I’m glad it happened, but it happened and things happen for a reason. So, I took out the good from it. I think it was more for myself, the people around me. More than anything, I feel like, no excuses, but I couldn’t show up and perform. I’m working on that ’cause my job is to be able to show up and perform and give it my best even if I lose.”
Rosas also revealed that he recently linked back up with his old wrestling coach, and he feels he will be better prepared for his next fight.
“I just went back to my wrestling coach,” Rosas said. “He’s from Russia, but we met in Kyrgyzstan because I didn’t know any wrestling. The only wrestling I knew, I learned it in like a month. So, I knew he was really good ’cause all the wrestling I know I learned it in a month thanks to him. So, we went back and trained for another month and he helped us improve in a lot of positions I could’ve done better in my last fight and just in general. So, I feel great about it.”
Of course, the one career loss for Rosas isn’t the end of the world. He still has plenty of time to try to break through as a top fighter in the bantamweight division.
