Raul
Rosas Jr. may be only 19 years old, but he has lofty
expectations.
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“I’m ready to begin my journey for the belt,” Rosas Jr. said in a
recent interview with UFC.com. “Give me a chance to fight somebody
that’s going to put me up there faster. I feel like that’s what I
want.”
The Dana White’s Contender Series alum will square off against
Qileng
Aori in a bantamweight bout at UFC
306 on Saturday night at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Rosas has
been victorious in three of his four Octagon appearances thus far
and is looking forward to the challenge that his Chinese opponent
presents.
“My opponent’s good, he’s tough, he’s durable, he’s experienced. I
give him props,” Rosas Jr. said. “I’m excited to step in the cage
with him and put him out. I visualized this fight that I’m going to
go out there and finish him. I’m excited because he does have good
striking, he does have some power in his hands. He’s dangerous as
well. So it’s gonna be a really good fight for the people, [and]
for us. I know that me going out there finishing someone like him
is going to put me in a good spot for my career.”
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Rosas Jr. defeated Terrence
Mitchell at the inaugural Noche UFC event last year, and he
requested to be part of the promotion’s event at the Sphere, which
will pay tribute to Mexican Independence Day with what has been
promised to be a spectacular show.
“The energy for sure is gonna be cool because I know whoever makes
it to the Sphere is going to be really excited for the Mexican
people,” Rosas Jr. said. “They’re gonna be having a nice show, it’s
gonna be like a movie. I know that the people are going to be
really hyped up and I’m excited to see it.”
If he defeats Aori, Rosas Jr. will move one step closer to achieve
his ultimate goal of winning championship gold.
“I get the job done, I’m thinking a good name will come after,
whether it’s someone ranked or not,” he said. “This is a really
good test, but as somebody wins in the UFC , the fights keep
getting harder and harder. This is a step up in competition this
Saturday. I feel like if I go out there and finish him, good things
are going to come my way.”