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Raul Rosas Jr. prepares to face Terrence Mitchell in a lightweight fight during the Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
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Raul Rosas Jr. Is Ready To Get Back On Track

After A Three-Month Wait, The Teenage Bantamweight Prodigy Will Finally Face Ricky Turcios This Weekend At UFC Louisville

After a sickness bug halted his bout with Ricky Turcios before he’d even left the locker room, Raul Rosas Jr. is back, healthy, and ready to pick up where he and Turcios left off in late-February.

Rosas and Turcios were all set to face off in Mexico City, before a nagging on-and-off sickness bug left Rosas unable to make the walk. It forced the bout to be cancelled moments before the walkouts, and left Rosas frustrated and sad.

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Some of my camp I was sick during the week and, unfortunately, I got it the day of (the fight),” he told UFC.com ahead of his rearranged bout with Turcios at UFC Louisville this weekend.

“I was coughing a little bit throughout the week, but nothing that deep. And then I woke up on Saturday, I felt a little bit sick, and I thought it would go away.”

 Raul Rosas Jr. poses for a portrait after his victory during the Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)
Raul Rosas Jr. poses for a portrait after his victory during the Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)

Unfortunately for Rosas, the bug didn’t go away and, despite his best efforts, and a combination of rest, water, food and sips of Gatorade, he was in no shape to make the walk to the Octagon.

“I felt light-headed, I felt dizzy, I had a cough and I thought it would go away, but unfortunately it didn’t,” he explained. 

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“So backstage, I had already told them that I was feeling sick, and when I made the decision, we’d tried to do a couple of things to see if I could shake it off a little bit, like a sip of Gatorade and stuff. And nothing worked. So that’s why it took until the last minute before the walkouts for them to say that I wasn’t going to be able to walk out.”

When a fighter pulls out of a fight, the sympathy can sometimes default to the fighter’s opponent, but Rosas said that, while he completely understood Turcios’ disappointment at the last-minute cancellation, the frustration was very real for him, too.

Raul Rosas Jr. Becomes The Youngest Fighter In UFC History | Dana White's Contender Series
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Raul Rosas Jr. Becomes The Youngest Fighter In UFC History | Dana White's Contender Series
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I did my camp, as well, I did my weight cut, I did everything,” he said.

“I know Ricky did, as well, so that's why he was disappointed. But everything I could control in my hands, I did correctly. And then I was sad, because I know in Mexico it's hard to even get a ticket to get in, and I know a lot of people bought a ticket specifically to go watch me, so that was disappointing. 

“But I got back to the drawing board, back to training. I thought I was going to fight him sooner, but eventually I got the call for June 8, so I just kept on training and now we're here.”

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Now, some three months removed from their original fight date, Rosas is back to full fitness again and ready to make that walk and face Turcios. And he said he’ll be doing so as an even better fighter than the one who was set to fight in February.

“I think I got much better,” he said.

“I even think physically, I’m stronger and bigger. From February to now, I grew in size, I grew in a lot of things – in knowledge, in everything. So my camp from Mexico and my camp that I had for Louisville, I put them together and that made me a much better fighter.”

Raul Rosas Jr. battles Terrence Mitchell in a bantamweight fight during the Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Raul Rosas Jr. battles Terrence Mitchell in a bantamweight fight during the Noche UFC event at T-Mobile Arena on September 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Those improvements will come in handy against Turcios, who won Season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter as a bantamweight after working under head coach Alexander Volkanovski. Since his tournament winning performance, he’s gone 1-1 in the Octagon, but in his performances so far, he’s shown enough to tell Rosas that he’s facing a tough, gritty competitor.

“I think he's a tough fighter – he has a lot of heart,” said Rosas. 

“I know he can take a beating and keep coming, so I know I can beat him up over and over, like Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, but every second he's gonna keep coming. 

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“He's a warrior. But skillset-wise, I think my skillset is way better – on the feet, on the ground, on the wrestling. But I think he's just a tough fighter that's going to keep coming.”

Rosas has big plans for the rest of 2024, and said that he wants to fight twice more after this weekend. And if one of those appearances happened to be as part of the UFC’s event on Mexican Independence Day at The Sphere, he’d be honored to represent his heritage with pride.

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“That would mean a lot,” he admitted.

“One, because Dana said that it could be once in a lifetime. And another, because it’s Mexican Independence Day, a very special day for Mexico. So I would be proud to go out and represent.”

Before that can happen, he has to finish this chapter of his career and face Turcios. He’s had to wait a few extra months, but when he finally gets into the Octagon this weekend, he’s confident that he’ll end the night with his hand raised in victory.

“I see me finishing Ricky,” he stated.

“Whether it's Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, I'm going to be looking for the finish. And I think I will get it done. I know I will get it done. So yeah, they can expect a war (and) they can expect me to go out there and give it all I’ve got.”

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov took place live from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on June 8, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!