Conor McGregor praises UFC teen Raul Rosas Jr. ahead of UFC debut

Prior to their match at UFC 282, former UFC champion Conor McGregor expressed his support for Raul Rosas Jr.

When Rosas Jr. takes on Jay Perrin at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he will make history as the youngest UFC athlete. With a victory against Mando Gutierrez at Dana White’s Contender Series in September, he was awarded a contract.

McGregor congratulated the 18-year-old on Twitter and offered words of support.

McGregor tweeted: “That’s incredible! The youngest ever. Good luck young man, in your career with the UFC”

Rosas Jr.’s performance at DWCS delighted UFC president Dana White. White said that he was “blown away” by his poise in the battle during his cage interview.

White stated, “I’m very very impressed with this kid. He’s absolutely special. The amount of fighters that were blowing me up going ‘Oh my god. this kid’s for real, this kid’s legit’. Impressive.”

Rosas Jr. (6-0) has been quite open about his goals. At age 20, he intends to become the UFC’s youngest champion ever. Jon Jones now holds the record after winning the UFC light heavyweight championship at the age of 23. Rosas Jr. will have to attempt to beat Perrin this weekend in order to begin his career.

The Mexican acknowledged that in order to make his MMA career successful, he had to make many sacrifices. He is unable to lead a typical adolescent lifestyle, which includes taking part in extracurricular activities at his high school or regularly hanging out with pals.

Rosas Jr. stated, “I think it’s about how bad I want it. So, I’m willing to do anything. Whatever it takes for me to get whatever I want. So, that’s what it took, so that’s what I had to do.”

Rosas Jr. was also a very calculated play for UFC to receive a lot of publicity and reach a younger fanbase. News of Rosas Jr’s signing made it out of MMA media and into mainstream.

While we wish him the best – it’s probably a good time for him to start thinking about how he can use the UFC platform to secure alternate streams of income.

UFC athletes who come from Dana White’s Contender series typically sign long unfavorable contracts that leave them earning $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win even when they’re clearly marketable as is the case with Rosas Jr.

Rosas Jr. was even included in UFC 4 game before he ever made his UFC debut – and over proven talent.