UFC 282 Prelims: Raul Rosas Jr., 18, Face Cranks Jay Perrin in Dazzling Debut

Raul Rosas Jr. did not shrink in the spotlight. In fact, he basked in it.

The 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate dazzled in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he submitted former CES MMA titleholder Jay Perrin with a face crank in their featured UFC 282 bantamweight prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rosas Jr. (7-0, 1-0 UFC), the youngest fighter to ever compete inside the Octagon, finished it 2:44 into Round 1.

Related » UFC 282 Round-by-Round Scoring

Perrin (10-7, 0-3 UFC) was out of his depth. Rosas Jr. delivered a takedown inside the first minute, climbed to the back and applied his ground-and-pound. After securing his position with a body triangle, the 18-year-old phenom slid his arms into place, tightened his vice-like squeeze and drew out the white flag from Perrin.

Frightening Rozenstruik Mauls Daukaus

American Top Team export Jairzinho Rozenstruik obliterated Chris Daukaus with punches less than a minute into the first round of their heavyweight pairing. Daukaus (12-6, 4-3 UFC) met his end a mere 23 seconds into Round 1 and now finds himself on a three-fight skid.

They exchanged punches at the outset, and it favored Rozenstruik (13-4, 7-4 UFC). The Surinamese kickboxer dazed Daukaus with a left jab, followed with a flying knee and pursued him with power punches. Rozenstruik never afforded the Martinez BJJ rep the chance to recover, as he stepped into a crushing left hook that resulted in a knockdown and led to the stoppage.

It was the fourth sub-minute finish of Rozenstruik’s career.

Shahbazyan Wrecks Reeling Lungiambula

Edmen Shahbazyan tasted the sweet fruits of victory for the first time in 1,134 days, as he dispatched former two-division Extreme Fighting Championship titleholder Dalcha Lungiambula in the second round of their middleweight scrap. Lungiambula (11-6, 2-5 UFC) packed his bags 4:41 into Round 2.

Shahbazyan (12-3, 5-3 UFC) was patient and precise. He focused his attention initially on the legs and body of the African powerhouse. Late in the second round, Shahbazyan connected with a flying knee and gave chase with punches. Lungiambula collapsed face first to the floor, absorbed more punishment and eventually succumbed to blows.

Lungiambula has lost four fights in a row.

Surging Curtis Ambushes Buckley

Xtreme Couture’s Chris Curtis bounced back from his July 23 loss to Jack Hermansson, as he wiped out Joaquin Buckley with punches in the second round of their middleweight confrontation. Curtis (30-9, 4-1 UFC) closed it out 2:49 into Round 2, winning for the ninth time in 10 outings.

The 28-year-old Buckley (15-6, 5-4 UFC) fought behind fast-twitch punching bursts and superior output, forcing his adversary into a defensive shell for much of the first round. He appeared to be following much of the same track in the second, then struck the proverbial iceberg. Curtis countered a head kick with a devastating left cross that sent “New Mansa” crashing to the canvas. The onetime CES MMA champion followed with a barrage of punches and hammerfists until referee Jason Herzog arrived on the scene to dust for prints.

Buckley has suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time as a pro.

Quarantillo Rallies, Swarms Hernandez

Former King of the Cage champion Billy Quarantillo took care of Alexander Hernandez with knees and punches in the second round of their featherweight duel. In his first appearance in more than a year, Quarantillo (17-4, 5-2 UFC) brought it to a close 4:30 into Round 2.

Hernandez (13-6, 5-5 UFC) enjoyed a near-flawless first round, where he stayed busy with punches, recorded multiple takedowns, made a pass at an arm-triangle and hacked open a cut on his opponent’s forehead with a downward elbow strike. However, he ran out of steam in the middle stanza. There, Quarantillo unleashed multi-punch volleys from a variety of angles and overwhelmed the Factory X product with brutal output. A few knees to the body pinned Hernandez to the fence, and a final flurry of punches sealed the deal.

The 30-year-old Hernandez has dropped five of his past eight bouts.

Brown Choke Vanquishes Silva

T.J. Brown rebounded from his June 25 decision defeat to Nuerdanbieke Shayilan, as he disposed of former Lux Fight League champion Erik Silva with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their featherweight affair. Brown (17-9, 3-3 UFC) slammed the door 3:41 into Round 3.

Silva (9-2, 0-1 UFC) struck for takedowns in the first and second rounds but failed to consolidate them with damage or control, often failing to hold dominant positions. Brown secured a takedown of his own in Round 3, operated effectively inside guard and opened a cut near his counterpart’s left eye with slashing ground-and-pound. The Roli Delgado protégé eventually locked down the arm-triangle, cleared the legs and forced the tap.

The loss was Silva’s first since July 2, 2016.

Saaiman Stops Replacement Koslow

Former Extreme Fighting Championship titleholder Cameron Saaiman put away Steven Koslow with knees and punches in the third round of their back-and-forth bantamweight tilt. A short-notice substitution for Ronnie Lawrence, Koslow (6-1, 0-1 UFC) checked out 4:13 into Round 3.

Saaiman (7-0, 1-0 UFC) rode out adversity—some of it self-inflicted—and rose to the occasion. The 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate surrendered full mount twice in the first round, then lost a point due to an illegal knee strike to the head in the second. Koslow elected to go forward despite the fact that he appeared visibly compromised by the impact of the foul. Saaiman reversed into top position midway through Round 3, applied his ground-and-pound and then disengaged in favor of the standup. Knees and punches flowed freely, until Koslow turned away from contact and prompted referee Chris Tognoni to act.