Raul Rosas Jr. has youth and history on his side against the experience of Rob Font

Mixed martial arts is called the damage enterprise, a deluge of punches and kicks, knockouts and all-out aggression. So it would sound out of place to listen to Rob Font say he has “got to feel bad” about planning to beat up his opponent this Saturday at UFC 326 in Las Vegas.

Except he was simply joking, in response to being knowledgeable that his 21-year-old opponent, Raul Rosas Jr.was simply 7 years outdated on the night time Font made his professional MMA debut in 2011.

“It’s crazy to think about it like that,” Font informed ESPN final week. “That’s so wild. I’m like, ‘I’ve almost got to feel bad now.’ But… nah.” I laughed.

No, Font will not hesitate to get right into a fistfight with the grown-up model of Rosas (11-1), who already has six UFC fights since making his Octagon debut 4 years in the past. He was 17 when he earned a contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” turning into the youngest fighter ever to signal with the UFC.

“He’s young but he’s hungry, and I know he’s dangerous,” Font stated. “I’m definitely not taking him lightly at all.”

Font (22-9) is 38 years outdated, giving this matchup a 17-year age hole. That’s notable however not even near a UFC file. In 1994 at UFC 4, Royce Gracea legend in the making however simply 27 at the time, confronted 51-year-old Ron van Clief. It turned out to be the first of three submission victories for Gracie on the solution to successful that one-night match. Van Clief, a kung fu action-film actor who was competing in his solely MMA bout, nonetheless owns the distinction of being the oldest fighter in the UFC.

Aside from that long-ago struggle’s age distinction of 23 years, 10 months, two different UFC matchups have had a wider hole than this coming Saturday’s. In each instances, the distinction was additionally 17 years, only a few months wider than Font vs. Roses.

Rosas acknowledged that such a era hole in a struggle is a rarity, however he did not see its relevance. “Age doesn’t really matter, especially at this level,” he informed ESPN on Tuesday. “It’s just another day in the office.”

Maybe Rosas did not obtain the office memo about what makes this weekend’s age hole greater than a mere curiosity: In the UFC’s three-decade history, there have been 11 matchups with an age distinction of 16 years or extra, and the youngest fighter has received each single one.

“Hmm, I don’t really know what to make of that,” Rosas stated. “I’m not thinking about Rob Font’s age too much, and I don’t think he’s thinking about mine.”

It’s true that Font is unfazed by the 0-11 file of his fellow elders and this struggle’s age hole. He is selecting to dwell as an alternative on a unique hole: experience. Font has almost thrice as many professional bouts as Rosas, however much more telling than the amount is the high quality. Font has shared the Octagon with three former UFC champions and has a 1-2 file against them. He’s confronted three different fighters who’ve challenged for a UFC belt. He has additionally crushed former title lists from Bellator MMA, the World Series of Fighting and One Championship.

Rosas’ résumé doesn’t shimmer like that.

“He has a lot of buzz behind him — in fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever fought someone that has this much buzz,” Font stated. “But I definitely believe that I am his biggest test to date.”

Rosas did not disagree with that evaluation. “That’s what makes me excited about this fight: It’s a good challenge for me, a good step up,” he stated. “Here is where I discover myself, what I’m truly made of.”

That is to not counsel that Rosas’ focus was completely inward. He acknowledged what sharing the cage with a high-level veteran can imply for his personal future.

“Rob Font, I respect him,” Rosas stated. “He’s done great things in the sport, fought the best of the best. And being able to fight somebody like that excites me, because I know after I get the W on Saturday, all I’m going to get after these are tough fights.”

With all due respect to these he is met on the fast-lane path he has traveled in the UFC, Rosas stated he welcomes what’s forward as a result of he is been getting ready for this since he was a child — since even earlier than Saturday’s 17-years-older opponent was a fighter. Remember, Font made his professional debut when Rosas was 7.

“I was in the first grade at that age, but I was already training,” Rosas stated matter-of-factly, as in the event that they had been a traditional age to start an MMA life. At 4 years outdated, he started watching his father prepare, however earlier than lengthy, watching wasn’t sufficient. He initially started coaching in karate, earlier than transferring onto different disciplines.

“I trained hard even when I was little,” Rosas stated. “I poured all my life into it.”

By the time he was a youngster, Rosas was competing internationally. At 14, he received a gold medal at the 1999 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s youth world championships in Rome. He turned professional at 17 and, after 5 fast wins over a seven-month span, bought his shot on “DWCS” — whereas nonetheless in highschool. He has gone 5-1 in his first six UFC fights, bringing Rosas to the place he’s in the present day at age 21.

When Font was 21, he not solely hadn’t begun coaching in MMA, however he additionally knew nothing about the sport. He was delivering pizzas in Tampa, Florida, and at some point he confirmed up at a buyer’s home, the place he turned inquisitive about the guys rolling round on a mat in the storage. Font caught round to look at them prepare, requested rather a lot of questions and, inside a couple of weeks, was taking benefit of a neighborhood health club’s introductory provide for per week of free MMA exercises.

Font took to the sport instantly and made his professional debut at 24 years outdated. He was 10-1 when he was signed by the UFC in 2014 and has flirted with the high 10 rankings at instances since. He has collected six efficiency bonuses in 20 visits to the Octagon, and his six knockouts tie him with Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera for second most in UFC males’s bantamweight history.

The stat that Font finds most relevant to Saturday’s struggle, nonetheless, is that he has fought 31 instances and by no means been knocked out.

“Yes, I’m the older fighter here, but I don’t have a lot of wear and tear,” he stated. “I’ve been in a few wars, but I haven’t been beaten up as much as some older fighters. I feel kind of young.”

And Rosas feels sort of older than his years. He eleven set a aim of turning into the youngest UFC champion ever — John Jones has the file at 23 years, 8 months — however has since amended it to purpose for 2 division titles and retirement by age 25. But with six UFC fights below his belt, Rosas places out the unhurried vibe of a veteran of the sport.

“I definitely feel more comfortable, more calm and collected, now that I’ve been in the Octagon a few times,” Rosas stated. “Every fight, I’m a better version of myself.”