Jean
Matsumoto wants Raul Rosas
Jr. for his sophomore
Ultimate Fighting Championship outing after a successful debut
against Dan
Argueta.
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Matsumoto submitted Argueta in a second-round buzzer beater at
UFC Fight Night 240, scoring his third career submission via
guillotine choke. While Matsumoto admits that the empty Apex was
good to start off his promotional journey, the Brazilian believes
he’s even better with a crowd in attendance. Matsumoto called for a
spot on the UFC’s card scheduled for Mexican Independence Day on
Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
“Actually, fighting here was better because of no pressure, since
it was my debut,” Matsumoto said during a post-fight media scrum. „But honestly, I’m a
better fighter with the crowd, and I’m willing to fight in front of
the crowd. And I heard there is a huge event coming to Vegas at The
Sphere, Mexican Independence Day, and I’d love to be part of that
show.”
Matsumoto also has a Mexican opponent in mind: the 19-year-old
Rosas Jr., who is quite likely to be a part of the card.
“Well, for that card there’s Raul Rosas
Jr. He’s a Mexican guy, really good fighter, very tough guy,”
Matsumoto said. “And I would like to fight him. Could be three
rounds, five rounds. I don’t care. I will fight him there.”
Matsumoto expects he would see plenty of wrestling from Rosas Jr.,
though maybe not as much as he encountered against Argueta.
“I believe he’s gonna try to take me down like Argueta did. But
maybe not as much because his strikes are a little bit better than
Argueta,” Matsumoto said. “But if he makes 135, let’s do it, let’s
go. I believe it would be really good fight for the UFC to promote
because I’m [an] undefeated guy, and he had lot of hype behind him.
So if everybody agrees I’m ready to go, just call me.”
Matsumoto is currently undefeated in 15 professional outings, which
includes nine finishes. Meanwhile, Rosas Jr. last fought in
September 2023, when he knocked out Terrence
Mitchell in under a minute to bounce back from his lone career
loss. Rosas Jr. was then scheduled to meet Ricky
Turcios at UFC Mexico City this past February but pulled out at
the last minute due to a sudden bout of illness.