Las Vegas, NV — UFC women’s strawweight Cory McKenna was asked what advice she had for teenager Raul Rosas Jr. following her win over Cheyanne Vlismas at UFC Vegas 66.
McKenna (8-2) won her way into the promotion on the Contender Series in 2020, and is now 3-1 inside the octagon following her decision win over Vlismas. Once, “Poppins” was the youngest fighter on the roster, a spot now taken by Rosas.
When it comes to advice for the 18-year old, however, McKenna doesn’t have any. She feels he’s mature enough, in terms of the sport.
“I feel like the sport is getting younger. There’s a lot more kids that are growing up within the industry now, as opposed to getting into it later in life,” McKenna told media outlets including Cageside Press. “A lot of kids get into martial arts and kind of grow up within the sport. I feel like we’re going to see a lot more youngsters in the UFC.”
As McKenna pointed out, “the age doesn’t always line up with the experience.” In her own case, arriving in the UFC at 21, “I had more experience than most of the 30-year olds in there. Just people see that you’re young, and make assumptions. But I think in the sport experience matters more than age.”
Saturday’s contest against Vlismas was McKenna’s highest-profile match-up in the UFC to date, set as the featured preliminary card fight at the last event of 2022 for the promotion. Of that placement, McKenna said “it’s really cool, moving way up the card. Obviously it shows that I’m making steps in the right direction. Hopefully I put on a performance worthy of it.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 66 post-fight press scrum with Cory McKenna above.
