Take the Sean O'Malley or Conor McGregor route - Aljamain Sterling offers advice to Raul Rosas Jr. for "wishful thinking" of outdoing Jon Jones
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has given a few words of advice to Raul Rosas Jr., who recently broke the record last week for being the youngest fighter to receive a UFC contract at the age of 17.
The young prospect has been undefeated in six professional fights so far in his career and most recently appeared in Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS). 'El Nino Problema' faced Mando Gutierrez in a bantamweight clash and saw his hand raised via unanimous decision after putting on a clinical display.
Speaking to Submission Radio, Aljamain Sterling hopes Raul Rosas Jr. can heed his advice:
"Be hungry, be passionate, be ambitious, in which Rosas Jr. is very, very ambitious. Take full advantage when the spotlight is on you but be smart in that process...He wants to be a champ by the time he's 19 or 20 years-old. I think it's wishful thinking in my personal opinion, not saying it can't be done. The youngest guy is Jon Jones and to think he's going to outdo Jon without the accolades."
'Funk Master' added:
"There's a path you gotta take. If he takes the Sean O'Malley route or the Conor McGregor route, and gets groomed the right way, I think the sky is the limit for the kid."
Rosas Jr.'s performance against Gutierrez impressed Dana White enough to hand him a contract on the spot, but it was later revealed that due to his age, the 17-year-old's parents were required to sign the deal for him.
Catch the full Submission Radio interview here:
Raul Rosas Jr. hopes to break record held by Jon Jones and become youngest UFC champion
The 17-year-old rising star has made a bold claim in regards to his future in the UFC. 'El Nino Problema' wants to break Jon Jones' record and go down in history as the youngest champion to win a title in the octagon.
'Bones' has held the record since UFC 128 when he defeated Mauricio Rua via TKO in the third-round. Jones became the light heavyweight champion at just 23 years of age and is widely considered to be one of the greatest MMA athletes of all time.
After his victory on DWCS, Raul Rosas Jr. sat down with the UFC press for the first time and answered a few questions. The bantamweight fighter showed his charismatic nature and stated that he has only one goal in mind:
"I know it won’t be easy, but nothing is easy in this life. I will become the youngest UFC champion. I don’t care what it takes, nobody is going to take this away from me. If I could fight a top five in my UFC debut, I would, but I have to work my way up there and I will be up there soon. I will become the youngest UFC champion when I’m like 19, 20, 21. It doesn’t matter."
Catch the full press conference with Raul Rosas Jr. here: