Raul Rosas Jr – “I asked for the $50k bonus so that I could buy my mother a minivan”
Headlining the UFC 282 preliminary card bouts on Saturday night was a bantamweight bout showcasing the youngest fighter to ever compete inside the octagon, 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr, and his opponent Jay Perrin.
Rosas just turned 18 in October, following his Contender Series victory at just 17-years-of-age. The December 10 fight was his debut in the big show, while Perrin had gone 0-2 inside the promotion since debuting earlier this year in February.
The youngster didn’t need very long to finish the fight and record his first UFC victory by way of first-round submission. Following the victory, Rosas who doesn’t have a driver’s license, spoke with media backstage.
“I asked for the $50k bonus so that I could buy my mother a minivan, and she can give me a ride to the PI (UFC Performance Institute) finally,” Rojas said.
UFC President Dana White did award the fighter from California, as well as all other fighters who finished fights on the card, with a $50k bonus.
Check out the UFC 282 post-fight press conference featuring Raul Rojas Jr. below via MMAFighting:
UFC 282 results below:
Main card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev ruled a split draw (48-47, 46-49, 47-47)
Paddy Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Santiago Ponzinibbio defeated Alex Morono via TKO – Round 3, 2:29
Dricus Du Plessis defeated Darren Till via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:43
Ilia Topuria defeated Bryce Mitchell via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:10
Preliminary Card (ESPN2, ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Raul Rosas Jr. defeated Jay Perrin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:44
Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeated Chris Daukaus via KO – Round 1, 0:23
Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Dalcha Lungiambula via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:41
Chris Curtis defeated Joaquin Buckley knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:49
Early Prelims (ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Billy Quarantillo defeated Alexander Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:30
T.J. Brown defeated Erik Silva via submission (head and arm choke) – Round 3, 3:41
Cameron Saaiman defeated Steven Koslow via TKO (punches, knees) – Round 3, 4:13
