There might be two Rosas brothers in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2023.
Last weekend (Nov. 19, 2022) at Bear Fight FC 16 in California, Jessie Rosas — older brother of 17-year-old Octagon wunderkind Raul Rosas Jr. — knocked out Raymond Smith in just 12 seconds. It was a hectic 12 seconds, though, as Rosas landed a head kick followed by a punch and then some ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in.
Watch it:
Jessie is the older brother of the youngest UFC fighter in the company’s history, making his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut earlier this year. And just like his little brother, he plans to make his way to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series program in 2023.
“Next year, there are going to be two Rosas brothers in the UFC. I’m going to go to Contender Series and get that UFC contract, and it’s going to be the Rosas brother takeover,” Jessie told Full Send MMA recently.
If you’re wondering if the two brothers would ever fight each other … the answer is, “No,” unsurprisingly, even though they verbally jab each other around-the-clock.
“If he keeps talking, he’s going to get it, and if he wants to get it, he’ll get it. Nah, I’m just kidding,” Raul said. “Nah, we’ll never fight because I don’t want to take easy fights, so I’m never going to fight him.
“But yeah, I want to see him hold the title one day. I’m going to move up a weight class, and we’ll figure it out. There is going to be two brothers in the UFC, and we’re going to make history by becoming the first brothers to become champion.”
All eyes are now set on Raul, who makes his highly-anticipated Octagon debut against Jay Parrin at UFC 282 on Dec. 10, 2022 . He made headlines earlier this year when he got signed to UFC at just 17 years old off of the aforementioned Contender Series show on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 282 fight card and rumors click here.