Raul Rosas Jr. Believes He Can Be ‘One of the Biggest Superstars’ in the UFC

Raul Rosas Jr. clearly wasn’t dwelling on the first loss of his mixed martial arts career.

The 18-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum returned to the win column in impressive fashion at UFC Fight Night 227, as he dispatched Terrence Mitchell via technical knockout in just 54 seconds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was a much-needed performance after Rosas fell to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 this past April.

“[I] never had any doubts about my skills,” Rosas said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “The only thing that loss changed was my record, and tonight I showed that nothing has changed.”

The typically wrestling-minded Rosas showcased some different skills against Mitchell, dropping his foe with a big punch and finishing the contest with ground-and-pound on the canvas.

“My grappling and my timing was on point,” Rosas said. “If it touched the ground, I knew I was going to find the submission. We put in a lot of work. I’ve been working lots of grappling. I was just blessed to show everything. I’ve evolved from the last fight. [I] showed my improvements and I was able to do it tonight.”

As the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, Rosas has received plenty of attention in the early days of his fighting career. “El Nino Problema” doesn’t shy away from expectations, however.

“I’m different,” Rosas said. “I have the potential to be a superstar and break all these records. I’m just being myself, and I’m blessed that I am the way I am. I know I have potential to become one of the biggest superstars of the company.”

There will likely be more growing pains for Rosas as his career progresses, but he’s will to take the necessary steps to reach his own lofty goals.

“I just got to live day by day,” Rosas said. “Focus on one goal and then go after another. Right now it’s just come back, have another amazing performance, climb up the ladder, and then go from there.”