Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Louisville, we are going to see a helluva matchup between two bantamweight prospects. Former Ultimate Fighter winner Ricky Turcios (12-3) will look to take down the hyped 19-year-old sensation Raul Rosas Jr (8-1).
These two were supposed to fight back in Mexico City on February 24th. In fact, both men made weight and were only minutes away from making the walk when Rosas Jr pulled out of the fight. Rosas Jr had been sick all fight day and it was decided that the fight couldn’t go on with him being sick.
The UFC decided to put these two back together and they’ll fight tomorrow night. Starting with Rosas Jr, he first fought on The Contender Series when he was just 17. Dana White gave him a contract and he made his debut at 18 just a few months later getting first round submission. He lost his second fight in the octagon to Christian Rodriguez in a huge learning moment. He bounced back strong with a first round finish over Terrence Mitchell last September at Noche UFC.
Ricky Turcios won The Ultimate Fighter back in 2021 by defeating Brady Hiestand by split decision. However, since winning the show, he’s only fought twice. He lost his UFC debut back in July 2022 but quickly bounced back with a split decision win over Kevin Natividad that November. We haven’t seen Turcios since, but he’s promising to bring the action tomorrow night.
UFC Louisville Prediction
To me, Turcios is the perfect opponent to truly test where Raul Rosas Jr is in his development. Rosas Jr is a sensational grappler with an incredible submission game. His striking is coming along and we saw that improvement in his last fight, but he’s still developing at such a tender age.
When he lost to Christian Rodriguez, he completely gassed out. He’s going to be able to take Turcios down tomorrow night, but Turcios is a scrambling machine and I guarantee he’s going to get back to his feet. He was taken down seven times in his last fight and still won with his activity and ability to get back to his feet.
I’m expecting a very high-paced first round with a lot of scrambles and fun exchanges at UFC Louisville. However, I think you’ll see a much-improved and composed Raul Rosas Jr. He’ll wait for his right moment and I think he gets the back of Turcios in the second round. From there, I think he locks up a submission to get the biggest win of his career.
Prediction: Raul Rosas by Submission