UFC Star Raúl Rosas Jr. Previews Noche UFC 306 at the Sphere

WQAM-AM / AM 560 Sports WQAM

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.

Transcript

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.

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