Raúl Gilberto Rosas Rios Jr. (born October 8, 2004) is a Mexican-American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who currently competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). Rosas Jr. was featured on

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been mov ...

, winning by decision and earning himself a UFC contract thus becoming the youngest person to be signed to the UFC in their history.

Early life

Rosas Jr.'s parents initially immigrated to the United States from

Iztapalapa Iztapalapa () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located on the eastern side of the city. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa (officially Iztapalapa de Cuitláhua ...

, a district of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. They settled in the city of

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The population was 38,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the eastern part of the state. A ...

, where Raul was born. At just 13 years old, the family moved to

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

in 2017. He began wrestling in high school and participated in Pankration, an amateur sport similar to mixed martial arts. After a few years in Santa Rosa, Rosas Jr.'s parents made the decision to take their sons' wrestling career a step further. As an amateur, and at just 14 years old, he participated in the

IMMAF The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for Amateur sports, amateur Mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organization under Sw ...

world championships in Rome, where he was able to win gold.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Rosas Jr. acquired a record of 5-0 competing exclusively in

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

for the Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico promotion winning all five fights by stoppage inside of two rounds.

Dana White's Contender Series Season

Rosas Jr. was then booked to compete on Week 9 of Season 6 of

on September 20, 2022, against Mando Gutierrez. He would win the fight via a dominant unanimous decision and was awarded a contract by

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

thus becoming the youngest fighter to sign a contract with the UFC at the age of 17.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After earning his contract, Rosas Jr. made his UFC debut at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

against Jay Perrin on December 10, 2022. He won the fight via first round submission and this became the youngest person to ever win a UFC fight. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Rosas Jr. faced Christian Rodriguez on April 8, 2023, at

UFC 287 ''UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 8, 2023, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. At the weigh-ins, Rodriguez weighed in at 137 pounds, one pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to Rosas Jr. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rosas Jr. faced Terence Mitchell on September 16, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 227 ''UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 227'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 85'' and ''Noche UFC'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 16, 2023, at th ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout inside the first minute. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Rosas Jr. was scheduled to face Ricky Turcios on February 24, 2024, at

UFC Fight Night 237 ''UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 237'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 95'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 24, 2024, at Arena CDMX, in Mexico ...

. However, Rosas Jr. was forced withdraw just before the bout was expected to begin due to an illness. As a result, the bout was initially pushed back one week to

UFC Fight Night 238 ''UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 238'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 96'' and ''UFC Vegas 87'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 2, 2024, at the U ...

on March 2, 2024. In turn, the bout was ultimately scrapped for unknown reasons. The fight would then be rescheduled to UFC on ESPN 57 on June 8, 2024. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Rosas Jr. faced

Aori Qileng Aori Qileng ( ch: 傲日其楞, born June 25, 1993), sometimes written as Aoriqileng is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Xilingol League, In ...

on September 14, 2024, at

UFC 306 ''UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''Noche UFC 2'' and branded as ''Riyadh Season Noche UFC'' for sponsorship reasons) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 14, ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rosas Jr. faced

Vince Morales Vince Morales (born November 12, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Morales has also competed in Bellator. Backg ...

on March 29, 2025 at

UFC on ESPN 64 ''UFC on ESPN: Moreno vs. Erceg'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 64'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 29, 2025, at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. Background The event ma ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Three times) **Youngest fighter to win a UFC bout (18 years, 2 months) **Youngest fighter to win five UFC bouts (20 years, 5 months) **UFC.com Awards *** 2022: Ranked #9 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Christian Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) ,

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Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Jay Perrin , Submission (face crank) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mando Gutierrez , Decision (unanimous) , Dana White's Contender Series 55 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Andres Portocarrero , TKO (punches) , UWC Mexico 35 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jose Guadalupe Peñaloza , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UWC Mexico 34 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Francisco Villanueva , Submission (armbar) , UWC Mexico 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Joel Peña , Submission (armbar) , UWC Mexico 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Eduardo Velázquez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UWC Mexico 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

, Mexico ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosas Jr., Raul 2004 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mexican male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing pankration Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Mexican male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mexican practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Mexican sportsmen