Talk about an explosive victory! Monster Energy congratulates Raul Rosas Jr. on defeating Terrence Mitchell at the Noche UFC in Las Vegas. In the Bantamweight division fight on the main card, the 18-year-old from Clovis, New Mexico, shut down his opponent via knockout within 54 seconds of Round 1. The young fighter also received the UFC’s $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus.
Noche UFC: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 was contested in front of a high-energy crowd inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Noche UFC celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a variety of Mexican fighters on the roster. The entire event featuring eleven fights was broadcast live on the ESPN+ service.
Currently, the youngest fighter signed to the UFC, Monster Energy’s Rosas Jr. (8-1) came to Las Vegas looking to recover from his first UFC loss incurred against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in April. His opponent, 33-year-old American MMA fighter Terrence Mitchell (14-4) out of Anchorage, Alaska, wanted back in the winner’s circle after losing to Cameron Saaiman at UFC 290 in July.
Right from the start, both fighters lost no time to pursue aggressively. Mitchell targeted Rosas Jr. with a high kick, only to receive a jab and overhand in return. After Mitchell missed a combination, the two opponents swung wild near the side of the Octagon, both aiming for maximum damage.
Then it all happened quickly. Rosas Jr. broke through Mitchell’s defenses with a brutal counter left that sat the Alaskan fighter down on the canvas, stunned and defenseless. Mitchell never had a chance to recover, as Rosas Jr. assumed control via side mount followed by a heavy barrage of damaging shots from above until referee Marc Smith called a stop to the fight with less than one minute elapsed on the clock.
“I had to prove a point today. My last fight, no excuses, but I had to come back from that. I hope I made y’all proud today!” said Monster Energy’s Rosas Jr. upon winning his Bantamweight fight at Noche UFC in Las Vegas.
“Terrence Mitchell is a very game opponent,” said Rosas Jr. “I had to really push myself this camp. I just knew I had to let them hands fly. I visualized it all in camp. Now in the fight it was reality. I’m just grateful for that performance.”
The dominant stoppage within 54 seconds also earned Rosas Jr. the UFC’s $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus, the second bonus within his young UFC career.
Nicknamed “El Niño Problema” (The Problem Child), Rosas Jr. became the 2019 Youth World MMA Champion in 2019. He earned his UFC contract after a win against Mando Gutierrez in Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2022. In his UFC debut, he decommissioned Jay Perrin via rear naked choke at UFC 282 in December 2022. As of now, Rosas Jr. is the youngest competitor amongst more than 700 fighters signed to the UFC. Keep an eye on this kid!
Raul Rosas Jr. counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon “Bones” Jones, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, Islam Makhachev, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Maycee “The Future” Barber, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, and Zhang Weili.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
