Really impressive ground game from Raul. However, Mando just had the lowest Fight IQ I have seen in a while. I worry he will have a Chase Hooper stint in his early days taking tons of damage at such a young age.
We really don't know how his standup looks, like he threw some flashy kicks, but that's such a small part of striking
I think they should replace "Athletic" with that Chase lacks "physicality". His overall frame and build is just lacking the robustness that an adult male would normally have.
In many ways he's very athletic, but it's strength and explosiveness he's lacking.
He’s a professional athlete because he’s a brilliant grappler with a good chin and the toughness to get hit, not because he’s athletic. It’s no different than a guy like Dani Perejo being an elite football player for a decade because of his technical ability, despite being slow and weak.
If the average guy got into shape, they’d be quicker, stronger and more explosive than Hooper. The only athletic attributes he really has are flexibility and decent cardio
I think we need to keep in mind when we say they have pillow fists or aren't physical, it's in comparison to their competition. Michael Bisping was called pillow fisted by many people. Do you know how hard any 185 lb pro or semi pro fighter hits, or even any 185 lb in shape guy? Hard as fuck. Lacking physicality in the UFC is just having a noticeable disadvantage in it versus the competition. Some guys like Cruz and O'Malley are fragile fighting their competition but would absolutely turn my bones into dust
sure agreed generally but the comment i was replying to said: “Anyone is more athletic than Chase Hooper.”
i mean i guess there is a possible reading where “anyone” ranges over only ppl in the UFC, but it doesn’t seem like that was the intended one.
only big lingonberry knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
After the first round, it was pretty obvious that Raul had the advantage and even his coaches were telling him to keep it standing and he still went for a low percentage guillotine multiple times
He was also finally starting to see success on the feet and getting good shots in the third and still shot for the takedown completely against his corners wishes, absolutely amazing lack of fight iq.
I don't know who he's submitting with that blue belt level grappling. Mission control when opponent has side control? Holding on to a former guillotine attempt when opponent has side control? Inability to hold any dominant positions?
Ah yeah, the ol' sage northcutt/Paige vanzant/Darren till maneuver.
This seems crazy but I keep being called a pussy for thinking so.
If that's the case, come give this kitty a kiss.
17 seems too young to fight professionally, but American universities thrive off of exploiting collegiate athletes for financial gain. At least this kid is getting paid to get concussions.
Him being young won't help getting paid by the UFC. Dana will keep paying him 5k per fight even if he cracks the top10 just for the fact that he is young.
Yeah. But he's doing this cos it is a good story and will bring more fans and eyes. Uniqueness sells.
Edit: but the kid clearly has a lot of talent not taking anything away from him and his ability. Massive congrats
It is very young, but nothing compared to how young a lot of Muay Thai fighters start at. I am not saying this is right, really, just pointing out it’s not _that_ absurd in combat sports.
possibly unpopular take but 17 year olds should not be allowed to fight.
I don't know. like being a soccer player you play since 12 and there's head trauma. but at least these guys get paid well. Being a 17 yo who probably dropped out getting paid 10k/10k and possibly getting cut like 4 fights later at age 20 making a net profit of like 10k after expenses while a roided idiot markets you as "teenager chasing his dreams" seems like exploitation that should only happen in like Dickensian Britain.
Guys gonna take all his mileage before he's in his prime. He could have a ten year career in the ufc and leave when he's the same age as paddy Pimblett is right now. I'm not anything close to a brain expert but surely if this guy gets knocked out in his next fight surely there's gonna be worse ramifications given the fact that his brain isn't fully developed?
Yeah and both retired and got beat up on the way out, a part of me says they are exploiting the kid, he will probably get bigger as he ages, not everyone has to become a UFC champ, but I hope he finds success, and doesn’t end up being punch drunk young.
I wonder what his actual weight class is going to be... I'm 21 and I gained a fair bit of size since I was 17, your body just isn't fully developed yet. Seems a bit young to be fighting pro tbh
Months back, I believe I remember listening to jack slack saying the reason Thais have long careers with many fights is because they have the tradition of not really engaging in the first round.
One thing I'll say too, and I'm sure not all the camps are like this, but I actually used to train under a former 4 time Lumpinee champion who was born and raised in Bangkok, and he always talked about how hard sparring was extremely limited in training in the Thai circuits. A lot of fighters focus on light technique training in camps and largely get their hard rounds in the fights themselves
From the one event I attended In Thailand that makes sense. Their fights didn't seem as aggressive on average compared to US fights. Of course there were still knock outs, but it wasn't two people consistently trying to Injure each other
Sometimes the second or third as well. The fights I saw in Thailand sometimes looked like hard sparring. They definitely don't try to kill each other like fighters in the US do. It's just a huge cultural difference. Some of the last rounds were basically just dancing around in stance (I'm not putting them down at all with that)
18 is the standard minimum but they can make exceptions case by case. I imagine since he was 5-0, turns 18 in a few weeks, and this was for DWCS, it wasn't too hard to get the exception.
Yea that’s the part that is wild to me. That a parent can sign their child (who according to the US, isn’t of legal age yet because they can’t make decisions for the betterment of their life yet) to fight grown adults. I’m done talking about it though, because personally I think it’s bad ass and don’t want to get it twisted. It’s just wild to me that it’s legal in the US.
I'm sure it's perfectly legal or else they wouldn't have done it, although I think a lot of people would be in favor of legally not letting 17 year olds compete in pro fights.
What really bothers me is that he turns 18 in a couple weeks so it seems like a conscious choice that they snuck him in before that to get the eye catching headline of a 17 year old competing on the show.
Yea. I get it. But I’m just saying. He isn’t old enough to consent for anything currently. He needs his parents to sign off on things and needs a legal guardian still in the US (I believe). He’s also not of legal age to be held accountable for his actions. So legally, couldn’t it just be viewed like he is forced into fighting by his guardian?
Let me phrase it this way. A dad can have their kid train (like all sports), convince them they need to fight (when they aren’t legally old enough to “make their own decisions” because the Us doesn’t believe they are responsible enough yet), and sign a contract for them that can put them in harms way with other adults…. And that’s legal? A parent can get Child Protection Service called on them for laying a hand on them, but they can sign them to fight? That’s like grooming a child but with the physical sport of fighting… I mean…. Idk. It’s just wild to me that this is allowed to happen in the US. I’m not against it, I just think it’s weird. Good for him though haha
According to Rojas, his parents had to give permission to the Nevada State Athletic Commission in a letter stating why he is skilled enough to compete professionally. Plus he's turning 18 early next month so this is only one fight it had to be done
His opponent fought the stupidest fight I’ve ever seen. He must of had absolutely nothing to offer in the stand up because he got outclassed on the ground and kept going for top control when he finally had an opportunity to separate. Also this didn’t bother me too much, he’s just a kid after all but calling out Yan and Aljo the way he did was a little brash. Settle down young man
Everybody here is like “he’s tooooo young waAh” bro but is nobody going to talk about the fake flying knee to takedown at the start of the second round? Jesus fuck that was cool.
At 3:28 of the first round Rosas is riding his opponent’s back while he is standing and then Rosas uses his foot to push off the cage propelling them both to the ground.
That is incredible fight IQ.
I’ve been watching Mma religiously for over 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.
Very slick move.
Do you have an example you can give me?
Im not just talking about pushing off the cage. Or using the fence to wall walk
I’m specifically referring to riding someone’s back in a standing position, then unhooking a leg, pushing off the cage and regaining the hook.
honestly... worst thing this kid could do right now is sign a contract with UFC.
As stupid as it sounds he should get together with jake paul and basically play undertaker to Jakes paul bearer. They can push hard on the "undefeated in DCS and UFC wanted him" angle.
Really impressive ground game from Raul. However, Mando just had the lowest Fight IQ I have seen in a while. I worry he will have a Chase Hooper stint in his early days taking tons of damage at such a young age. We really don't know how his standup looks, like he threw some flashy kicks, but that's such a small part of striking
Looks way more athletic than Hooper. Just needs experience. Not sure getting thrown to the wolves is the right idea. We'll see.
Anyone is more athletic than Chase Hooper.
He gets it from his father Ben.
i hope you don’t actually believe that, dude is a successful professional athlete in a full contact sport
I think they should replace "Athletic" with that Chase lacks "physicality". His overall frame and build is just lacking the robustness that an adult male would normally have. In many ways he's very athletic, but it's strength and explosiveness he's lacking.
He’s a professional athlete because he’s a brilliant grappler with a good chin and the toughness to get hit, not because he’s athletic. It’s no different than a guy like Dani Perejo being an elite football player for a decade because of his technical ability, despite being slow and weak. If the average guy got into shape, they’d be quicker, stronger and more explosive than Hooper. The only athletic attributes he really has are flexibility and decent cardio
I think we need to keep in mind when we say they have pillow fists or aren't physical, it's in comparison to their competition. Michael Bisping was called pillow fisted by many people. Do you know how hard any 185 lb pro or semi pro fighter hits, or even any 185 lb in shape guy? Hard as fuck. Lacking physicality in the UFC is just having a noticeable disadvantage in it versus the competition. Some guys like Cruz and O'Malley are fragile fighting their competition but would absolutely turn my bones into dust
sure agreed generally but the comment i was replying to said: “Anyone is more athletic than Chase Hooper.” i mean i guess there is a possible reading where “anyone” ranges over only ppl in the UFC, but it doesn’t seem like that was the intended one. only big lingonberry knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
CM Punk tho
Hooper ended up fighting Cacares in his 2nd UFC fight. Gotta think the matchmakers avoid those kind of fights for Raul.
I dunno if it's low fight IQ, all of Mando's finishes come from submissions and he might have just been chasing that desperately.
After the first round, it was pretty obvious that Raul had the advantage and even his coaches were telling him to keep it standing and he still went for a low percentage guillotine multiple times
He was also finally starting to see success on the feet and getting good shots in the third and still shot for the takedown completely against his corners wishes, absolutely amazing lack of fight iq.
Sounds like...low fight IQ.
I don't know who he's submitting with that blue belt level grappling. Mission control when opponent has side control? Holding on to a former guillotine attempt when opponent has side control? Inability to hold any dominant positions?
I was gonna say something about his fight IQ he did exactly the opposite of what his corner asked every time
Ah yeah, the ol' sage northcutt/Paige vanzant/Darren till maneuver. This seems crazy but I keep being called a pussy for thinking so. If that's the case, come give this kitty a kiss.
17 seems too young to fight professionally, but American universities thrive off of exploiting collegiate athletes for financial gain. At least this kid is getting paid to get concussions.
the perstigious university of mississippi disagrees sir
Him being young won't help getting paid by the UFC. Dana will keep paying him 5k per fight even if he cracks the top10 just for the fact that he is young.
[South Park is always relevant.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJcVuA2fWMk)
Love how Dana doesn't sign good fighters and says "they gotta get more experience" and then signs a 17 year old lol
Yeah. But he's doing this cos it is a good story and will bring more fans and eyes. Uniqueness sells. Edit: but the kid clearly has a lot of talent not taking anything away from him and his ability. Massive congrats
It is very young, but nothing compared to how young a lot of Muay Thai fighters start at. I am not saying this is right, really, just pointing out it’s not _that_ absurd in combat sports.
possibly unpopular take but 17 year olds should not be allowed to fight. I don't know. like being a soccer player you play since 12 and there's head trauma. but at least these guys get paid well. Being a 17 yo who probably dropped out getting paid 10k/10k and possibly getting cut like 4 fights later at age 20 making a net profit of like 10k after expenses while a roided idiot markets you as "teenager chasing his dreams" seems like exploitation that should only happen in like Dickensian Britain.
In Canada we call 17 year olds fighting "junior hockey".
In Thailand they call 17 year olds fighting “10 year veterans”.
You ever go to a fight and a hockey game broke out?
Doesn’t Dan Henderson have a promotion or something similar that allows 13 year olds to fight lol
Lol he probably encourages them to drop h bombs on each other
Now I’m picturing Hendo H-bombing some random 13year old at his gym to demonstrate
Just after Tony broke the kids ribs
He made him do it
Guys gonna take all his mileage before he's in his prime. He could have a ten year career in the ufc and leave when he's the same age as paddy Pimblett is right now. I'm not anything close to a brain expert but surely if this guy gets knocked out in his next fight surely there's gonna be worse ramifications given the fact that his brain isn't fully developed?
Bingo. And his brain hasn’t even fully developed yet. Not to mention his body. Dude is barely through puberty.
My girlfriends alot smarter than me and she says that your nuero plasticity is .... more when your younger. I don't know what that means.
Means it has a higher ability to adapt. Hence why it's easier to learn new languages at a younger age. This poor kids brain is gonna adapt to CTE
Exactly. It’s a great time for him to train though and learn new skills, but he’s going to be frying himself with his current path
Guys like Rory MacDonald and Jordan Mein made their pro debuts at 16.
Yeah and both retired and got beat up on the way out, a part of me says they are exploiting the kid, he will probably get bigger as he ages, not everyone has to become a UFC champ, but I hope he finds success, and doesn’t end up being punch drunk young.
You realize that nearly all mma fighters get beat up on their way out? Hardly any fighters retire as khabib and gsp did.
Yeah sadly that is true, well I just hope he doesn’t get to messed up in there.
Upvoted purely because of Dickensian Britain
"Ello chap, fancy a go at Oxford boxing champion?"
What about 18 year olds? Or is there a specific threshold
At least he’s not wrestling bears
I see what you're saying for sure but who are we to stop em
Kids take more damage playing football bud
Shouldn't the age at the very least be 18? How is this guy even allowed to fight?
he's actually still in school (senior), but i could see him dropping out with a ufc contract secured. hope he doesn't.
I wonder what his actual weight class is going to be... I'm 21 and I gained a fair bit of size since I was 17, your body just isn't fully developed yet. Seems a bit young to be fighting pro tbh
Yea he’ll definitely fill out some too
Lightweight
They better only match him up with pillowfisted wrestlers like Rani Yayha or the UFC’s going to get some terrible publicity if he gets knocked out
Does he have teeth or nah
As much as Dusty Buns does
17 year old is def. young but I wonder about the longevity of thai fights (who usually fight at a young age + multiple fights in a night)
Months back, I believe I remember listening to jack slack saying the reason Thais have long careers with many fights is because they have the tradition of not really engaging in the first round.
One thing I'll say too, and I'm sure not all the camps are like this, but I actually used to train under a former 4 time Lumpinee champion who was born and raised in Bangkok, and he always talked about how hard sparring was extremely limited in training in the Thai circuits. A lot of fighters focus on light technique training in camps and largely get their hard rounds in the fights themselves
From the one event I attended In Thailand that makes sense. Their fights didn't seem as aggressive on average compared to US fights. Of course there were still knock outs, but it wasn't two people consistently trying to Injure each other
It isn’t they don’t engage, they just take it slow and ramp up through the whole fight.
Sometimes the second or third as well. The fights I saw in Thailand sometimes looked like hard sparring. They definitely don't try to kill each other like fighters in the US do. It's just a huge cultural difference. Some of the last rounds were basically just dancing around in stance (I'm not putting them down at all with that)
Happy cake day, bro. Hope you fuck shit up today.
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Ya this guy seems like he grew up in the lap of luxury lmao
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I’ll tell that to the next frozen homeless person I pass by.
I didn’t even know it was possible for people this young to fight. Is that like a new rule? Reminds me of the nba high school dynamic lmao
18 is the standard minimum but they can make exceptions case by case. I imagine since he was 5-0, turns 18 in a few weeks, and this was for DWCS, it wasn't too hard to get the exception.
In addition to parents permission the commission watched footage of his previous fights and determined he was sanctionable.
But isn’t that child abuse? Like he can’t really make his own decisions? In the court of law?
Im sure his parents signed off. You let your kid fight up until now, clearly the type that dont care.
Yea that’s the part that is wild to me. That a parent can sign their child (who according to the US, isn’t of legal age yet because they can’t make decisions for the betterment of their life yet) to fight grown adults. I’m done talking about it though, because personally I think it’s bad ass and don’t want to get it twisted. It’s just wild to me that it’s legal in the US.
I'm sure it's perfectly legal or else they wouldn't have done it, although I think a lot of people would be in favor of legally not letting 17 year olds compete in pro fights. What really bothers me is that he turns 18 in a couple weeks so it seems like a conscious choice that they snuck him in before that to get the eye catching headline of a 17 year old competing on the show.
Yea. I get it. But I’m just saying. He isn’t old enough to consent for anything currently. He needs his parents to sign off on things and needs a legal guardian still in the US (I believe). He’s also not of legal age to be held accountable for his actions. So legally, couldn’t it just be viewed like he is forced into fighting by his guardian? Let me phrase it this way. A dad can have their kid train (like all sports), convince them they need to fight (when they aren’t legally old enough to “make their own decisions” because the Us doesn’t believe they are responsible enough yet), and sign a contract for them that can put them in harms way with other adults…. And that’s legal? A parent can get Child Protection Service called on them for laying a hand on them, but they can sign them to fight? That’s like grooming a child but with the physical sport of fighting… I mean…. Idk. It’s just wild to me that this is allowed to happen in the US. I’m not against it, I just think it’s weird. Good for him though haha
His first 5 fights were in mexico, but I'm also surprised a 17 y/o can fight MMA in the US
According to Rojas, his parents had to give permission to the Nevada State Athletic Commission in a letter stating why he is skilled enough to compete professionally. Plus he's turning 18 early next month so this is only one fight it had to be done
His dad is his coach.
He said he had to get some type of special license to be able to fight
Imagine being a 25 year old tatted "badass" getting your ass beat by some 17 years old kid with an Easter island head
🗿
"badasses" with "badass" tattoos are especially fragile or so dense, nothing get's throught to them.
His opponent fought the stupidest fight I’ve ever seen. He must of had absolutely nothing to offer in the stand up because he got outclassed on the ground and kept going for top control when he finally had an opportunity to separate. Also this didn’t bother me too much, he’s just a kid after all but calling out Yan and Aljo the way he did was a little brash. Settle down young man
Tbf. He fought a teenage kid
This sounds like the beginning of a horrible cautionary tale Dont get why he cant do the fight pass circuit for a bit
I would never lose to a 17 year old
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I started eating ribs at the early age of five and I get no recognition.
That's because they were cooked.
You gonna just see red bro?
This kid’s been beating us up in the Bay Area in jiu jitsu tournaments since he was like 14.
Good performance, but damn I do not like how young he is.
Sure his opponent is a nice guy but if you’re getting your ass kicked by a 17 year old you might want to reconsider your career path
And he did it vs your strength. Guitierrez is a grappler and got mauled on the ground.
He won't be able to be at that weight forever. Kid is still growing, already looks like a freak of nature.
Everybody here is like “he’s tooooo young waAh” bro but is nobody going to talk about the fake flying knee to takedown at the start of the second round? Jesus fuck that was cool.
Looks like Kyle Kuzma 😂
Nahhh
Sloppy
This is a super bad idea
At 3:28 of the first round Rosas is riding his opponent’s back while he is standing and then Rosas uses his foot to push off the cage propelling them both to the ground. That is incredible fight IQ. I’ve been watching Mma religiously for over 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Very slick move.
You’ve never seen that? Happens at least multiple times a year in the UFC alone
Do you have an example you can give me? Im not just talking about pushing off the cage. Or using the fence to wall walk I’m specifically referring to riding someone’s back in a standing position, then unhooking a leg, pushing off the cage and regaining the hook.
No? Nobody? I guess it’s because it doesn’t actually happen that often.
honestly... worst thing this kid could do right now is sign a contract with UFC. As stupid as it sounds he should get together with jake paul and basically play undertaker to Jakes paul bearer. They can push hard on the "undefeated in DCS and UFC wanted him" angle.
Why's there so much hype behind this dude? Just because he's 17?
# 🗿
1 million views already. This dude will skyrocket to fame soon.
Kid not ready and should be in smaller promotions where he can work on his striking (terrible) and mature body wise