This past Saturday on the main card of UFC Louisville, we saw a bit of a grudge match in the bantamweight division. Top prospect Raul Rosas Jr (9-1) was taking on former Ultimate Fighter winner Ricky Turcios (12-4). The bad blood for this matchup stems from their first scheduled fight back in February in Mexico City.
Both men made weight for that fight and were all set to go. However, Rosas Jr fell ill the night of the fight. He tried to make his way through warmups but he couldn’t and after consulting with the doctors in the back, the fight was called off just minutes before the fighters were set to make the walk.
Turcios was understandably frustrated by the last-second cancellation. The UFC rebooked the fight for the Louisville card and you could tell there was some animosity from the jump. As Rosas Jr went to touch gloves, Turcios flipped him off and immediately through a kick. The first round of their fight was very wild with a ton of grappling scrambles and both men securing dominant positions.
After getting dominated early in the round, Turcios reversed the positions and got the back of Rosas Jr. He nearly secured a rear naked choke and finished the round on the back of Rosas Jr. In the second round, it was Rosas Jr who got the back of Turcios. After some hand fighting, Rosas Jr secured the rear naked choke and got the tap giving him his third win in the UFC.
What’s next after UFC Louisville?
Raul Rosas Jr will not turn 20-years-old until October and he’s already 3-1 inside the octagon. He will likely get his fifth fight in the UFC before his next birthday. Coming out of this fight without injury, I’d have to imagine that the promotion is wanting Rosas Jr on the Mexican Independence Day card which will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
UFC 306 goes down on September 14th and I would be a decent amount of money that if he’s healthy, we will see Raul Rosas Jr on that card. So, if that’s when he’s going to fight next, who should he face? There’s actually three really strong options I have my eyes on for Rosas Jr.
The first would be another Ultimate Fighter winner in Brad Katona. Katona also fought this past weekend and won a decision over Jesse Butler. Katona would be a really solid test to see where Rosas Jr is in his development. Da’Mon Blackshear could be another option. Blackshear is 2-2-1 in his five octagon appearances but given his skillset, it would certainly be a good fight for Rosas Jr.
The other option I’m looking at turns our attention to this upcoming weekend. Brady Hiestand takes on Garrett Armfield. Both men have won two in a row and Armfield actually has a win over Brad Katona. Whoever wins that matchup could very well be the next fight for the 19-year-old.