UFC Star Raúl Rosas Jr. Previews Noche UFC 306 at the Sphere
UFC Star Raúl Rosas Jr. joins the show to preview UFC 306 Noche at the Sphere in Las Vegas this Saturday night. He explains how even as a kid he was ready to fight adults.
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00:00We got UFC three Oh six coming up and that is going our way, uh, this Saturday live on
00:08pay-per-view.
00:09We have one of the young sensations of the UFC and up and coming star 19 years old.
00:15And he is Raul Rosas jr.
00:17Joining us here on the program.
00:19He is fighting coming up.
00:20What's going on, Raul?
00:21How are you, buddy?
00:22I'm good.
00:23And you?
00:24I'm good, buddy.
00:25I'm good.
00:26How is, uh, how has this whole experience been this fight week?
00:27I mean, this looks crazy.
00:29They're pulling out all the stops for this, uh, for this monster fight of the sphere.
00:33Yeah.
00:34Uh, a lot of special things, uh, so I'm excited.
00:39What is, uh, what is, uh, what's, what are the circumstances around fight week?
00:42It's like, are they, there's a lot of fanfare this week.
00:45What, what are they doing in Vegas?
00:47Uh, who just like the UFC, like, is it like, you see the fans going crazy?
00:53Oh, I haven't bumped into, uh, any like people at all.
00:59Cause it's been all at the apex.
01:01So, uh, uh, but yeah, they will have ceremonial weigh-ins and press conference later this
01:07week.
01:08So that's what I'm going to see more of that.
01:10Have you been to the sphere yet?
01:11Have you actually gone there?
01:13Have you, have you done anything near any, you know, media or anything like that?
01:17No.
01:18No.
01:19Getting ready to go out.
01:20Are you excited about it though?
01:21It seems like it's going to be a hell of a, like they got all the pulling out all the
01:23stops for it.
01:24Yeah.
01:25I'm excited for, for all of it and I'm just enjoying this week.
01:28Well, you, I mean, it's crazy to think of all the success, a UFC star, you entered it
01:33like right as you turned 18, you know, we saw you, uh, you know, down here in Miami
01:38and you turned around from that, you gotten two big wins already, um, going into this
01:44promotion at such a young age, like, has it, has it been everything you've dreamed of already
01:48so far, or has it been harder than you thought it was going to be?
01:52How has it lived up to your expectations making the UFC at such a damn young age?
01:58No, everything has been, uh, uh, obviously that loss wasn't what I visualized, but everything
02:03else has gone exactly like how I imagined it.
02:07So I'm just thankful and blessed to be where I am today.
02:11You took that though, and you won so impressively the next two times around.
02:15So like, how did you take that and what did you learn from that to, to be so successful?
02:21Like right off the bat, like, did you find it beneficial in any way or was it just, uh,
02:25did it just frustrate you?
02:26Um, no, I found it beneficial, like, uh, uh, my, you know, when I lost, well, I can't do
02:34nothing anymore.
02:35The only thing I was able to do is learn and grow from it and try to not make those mistakes
02:41again.
02:42So, uh, I learned so many mistakes that I did in that fight, uh, before and after like
02:49leading up to the fight in the camp.
02:51So I went and fixed every single detail and that's why I feel like I am the fighter that
02:56I am today.
02:58For your standpoint, you're 18 years old.
03:00You make the UFC, which is pretty nuts.
03:03You know, you're, you're not even 20 yet.
03:06At what age were you putting people in rear naked chokeholds?
03:09Because my son's eight years old and he's already sneaking up on me and he's already
03:12like thrown.
03:13So like at what age were you already kicking people's ass?
03:15Was it, was it five?
03:16Was it in diapers?
03:17At what point were you already a monster?
03:20I started training when I was four, but when I started like really, really getting good
03:24at it where I could go with, uh, uh, some adults, uh, it was probably like when I was
03:3010 years old, I was able to start choking the adults out.
03:33So that's when I started getting good at it.
03:40Oh my goodness.
03:41That's just terrifying.
03:4210 years old, you're choking adults out?
03:45Yeah.
03:46Yeah.
03:47Yeah.
03:48And then it was pretty even because, uh, uh, I had like some experience already, so I knew
03:53what I was doing.
03:54And then they were like almost brand new, but you know, the strength is, it was way
04:00different.
04:01So I felt like it was kind of fair, you know?
04:03Of course.
04:04Yeah.
04:05Well, I would like, at what point when you're doing this, are you too good to go with kids
04:09your age?
04:10Like at what point did that happen when they're like, no, no, no, no, no.
04:13Raul's too good for this.
04:14We can't have him rolling with the other 10 year olds or the nine year olds.
04:17He he's, he's destroying all of them.
04:19Um, I came from a small town, so there was never a kids class out.
04:23We always, I just had my brothers that were like close in age and, uh, same size.
04:30But since I was like, uh, 13, no 12, 13 years old, uh, I started lying in the Naga tournament
04:38saying I was 18 years old and stuff, because, uh, since you have to pay for, to compete,
04:45I told my parents that, uh, if I was going to pay a hundred dollars to compete, I wanted
04:49it to be competitive.
04:51And so I was going into the dual expert divisions and I was, I was doing pretty good.
04:56Oh my God.
04:58So like, so 18, you're going to like, what, what is the first like age in a real competition?
05:03Like what was the age of the person you're going up against as a teenager?
05:06Uh, as a teenager, I think I was like 13 years old.
05:12And then, um, it was the first time that, uh, I went, there was no kids at the tournament.
05:17So they put me at one 55 with a purple belt.
05:21He was like around 30 years old.
05:23And then I was able to go out there and, and beat him.
05:26So then after that, I was like, oh fuck, I'm just going to stay competing with these adults.
05:32Oh my God.
05:33Um, so you ruined that guy's probably hobby at jujitsu.
05:37Like he, if he's losing, I understand you're going to maybe be champion of the world one
05:41day, but you, you, uh, you Pete, a 30 year old, he's probably like, well, if I lost to
05:46a child, I probably, I understand you told him he was 18.
05:52So he thought you were 18, but I think he knew, or he could see that I was young or
05:57something because when I beat him, we were supposed to only go once.
06:01And then, uh, he was, uh, uh, like talking shit to the rep, like, I don't know about
06:08the match.
06:09He was complaining too much.
06:10And then my dad say, uh, my dad was like, all right, bro, just shut up.
06:13Let's run it back.
06:14So we went back on the mat, did another 10 minutes and then I smoked them even worse.
06:20So then after that, it was just like, I'll sit in bed.
06:24The damage was done.
06:25Run it back.
06:26Well, we can't wait to see an action this weekend, man.
06:29Go by UFC 306, Noche UFC, uh, it's been a, it's been a pleasure, man.
06:35Thanks for the time.
06:36And we'll talk to you again down the line.