Raul Rosa Jr.’s dream debut fight made the Mexican-born California-based 18-year-old the youngest ever winner in UFC history. Yet others have also proved that age doesn’t matter in the popular sport.
Although experience and guile are learned over time, there have been many surprise MMA world champions. Here’s a rundown of who made it to the top at a young age.
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Angela Lee (19 years, 10 months)
Canadian-born Lee, who moved to Hawaii aged seven years, secured her maiden MMA world title in 1996. She defeated veteran Japanese fighter Mei Yamaguchi to claim the inaugural ONE atomweight in a memorable clash that included 14 submissions from the two proud warriors to put women’s MMA on the global map.
Joe Soto (22 years 3 months)
The Californian clinched the first-ever Bellator Featherweight Championship in 2009, after a rear naked choke submission over Yahir Reyes in front of home fans at Ontario’s Citizens Business Bank Arena.
Gegard Mousasi (23 years 1 month)
The Iran-born Dutch star scooped the 2007 DREAM Middleweight Championship. He left UFC in 2017, having become an overall six-time MMA world champion to earn the nickname of “The Dreamcatcher”.
Eduardo Dantas (23 years 2 months)
The Brazilian challenged champion Zach Makovsky in the fifth season of the Bellator Bantamweight Tournament. Proving triumphant with a second round technical submission.
Jon Jones (23 years 8 months)
The New Yorker captured the 2011 UFC Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Mauricio Rua (UFC 128, 3rd round) with a TKO. He never tasted defeat as the UFC’s Light Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended the title against Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier. However, he was stripped of the crown in April 2015, following a failed drug test.
Jose Aldo (24 years 2 months)
The Brazilian added the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship belt in 2010 to his prizes without a one-off fight finale to earn the title. He had been crowned the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion, which he had twice successfully defended. He was automatically granted the UFC’s first-ever featherweight championship when Zuffa LLC elected to merge the UFC and WEC.
Carlos Newton (24 years 8 months)
The Anguillian-born fighter became the first-ever Canadian UFC champion after the submission master picked up the 2001 UFC Welterweight Championship (UFC 31, 3rd round). He secured a bulldog choke submission on his opponent Pat Miletich.
Frank Shamrock (25 years 0 months)
The Californian lifted the 1997 UFC Middleweight Championship
(UFC 14, 2nd round) with the third submission against Jeremy Horn.
Francisco Santos Mir III (25 years 0 months)
Las Vegas-born Mir fended off Tim Sylvia in the 2004 UFC Heavyweight Championship (UFC 48, 1st round) in a fight that was stopped after just 50 seconds, because Mir broke Sylvia’s right arm in four places with a straight armbar.
Ricco Rodriguez (25 years 1 month)
Defeated Randy Couture (UFC 39, 5th round) in 2002 to become the first person with Puerto Rican descent to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship, courtesy of TKO (submission to elbow).
With Rosas Jr. vying to be crowned a world champion in the coming years, the tenacious teenager is eager to reach the very top as quickly as he can.
Bookmakers are keen to see when the fearless high school student will follow up his bantamweight triumph at Las Vegas in December, which improved his record in the cage to 7-0.
His swift success over 29-year-old American Jay Perrin, courtesy of a rear naked choke to register a first-round submission in under three minutes, has propelled him into the spotlight. It would take a brave person to back his opponent to succeed.
Although Rosas Jr. can hardly wait to take on another clash, the Dana White Series Contender is being held up to develop and hone his silky skills.
His glory from the one short fight has already attracted rave reviews from big sporting names, as he is a raw talent who possesses the tools to trouble anyone.
However, there are a plethora of rapidly emerging fighters who are ready to take over the limelight in their bid for glory, which can be seen at the Unibet Australia review.
These crowd-pleasing mixed martial artists have worked hard to attract centre stage, yet are still on the rise. Names to watch out for and seem a surefire bet to make an impact in 2023 include Brazilian Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, Spanish-born chunky American Chris Barnett, American Sean O’Malley, English pair of Michael “Venom” Page and Paddy Pimblett and US grappler Garry Tonon.
However, all eyes are firmly focused on Rosas Jr., nicknamed El Niño Problema, and what he will achieve during 2023. If he wants to continue his fast development then he will need to improve his stand-up, which he will spoon sort out as he has the desire to take centre stage for the long-haul.
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