Raúl Rosas Jr.: The 19 Year-Old Phenom Setting a Retirement Timeline

19 year-old bantamweight phenom Raúl Rosas Jr., who cut his teeth on Dana White’s Contender Series back in late 2022 — as a minor — plans to leapfrog Jon Jones and become the youngest UFC champion in history. “I just wanna accomplish my dreams which is to become the youngest UFC champion, have the belt, defend the belt a few times, probably retire,” Rosas Jr. told ESPN MMA. “Hopefully by 25 years old my career is all said and done and I’m able to enjoy time with my family and whatever I decide to do. I feel like I’m right on track.” Hopefully he has the energy to last that long, bro. “Right now, this is my opportunity,” Rosas Jr. continued. “This fight this Saturday is gonna put me in a very good spot with four wins in the UFC and four finishes. Right now I’m focused on that and whatever comes next, I’m gonna be ready.” After this fight, he feels he’ll be able to get a big name, maybe a Top 15 or a good test.

That will require Rosas Jr. to get past the rough-and-tumble Aoriqileng on the UFC 306 Prelims card this Sat. night (Sept. 14, 2024) at The Sphere in Las Vegas, a victory that could land him an opponent in the bantamweight Top 15 in early 2025. MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ Prelims matches at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 306 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.