There was no Fight of the Night awarded at Saturday’s UFC Louisville, an uneven card held at the unfortunately named KFC Yum! Center (a prime example of naming rights gone wild) in Louisville, KY.
What there was, in the end, was four individual efforts deemed worthy of a Performance of the Night bonus. Among those winners, 19-year old bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr, a sensation since signing with the UFC after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series while he was still just 17.
Paired up with TUF 29 winner Ricky Turcios, who declined a glove touch and got in Rosas’ face off the opening bell, the teen improved to 3-1 inside the octagon care of a second-round rear-naked choke. Rosas Jr. had to fight off an RNC himself in the first frame, with Turcios locking on the choke and Rosas Jr. simply powering through it, punching back at his opponent while fans in the arena chanted “f*ck you, Ricky!” over and over.
The eventual submission win is another milestone for Rosas, clearly the biggest in his young career. Defeating a TUF champ will mean a bigger test next time out no doubt. For now, Raul Rosas Jr. earns his third Performance bonus in three wins with the company, a combined $150,000 at an age when most of his peers are starting college.
Zach Reese scored his own 50K Performance bonus after making quick work of Julian Marquez, notching his first UFC win in the process. Carlos Prates and Brunno Ferreira picked up the remaining two $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Louisville.
