Raul Rosas Jr. vs Terrence Mitchell Prediction: Easy Choke

UFC Noche takes place on September 17th in Las Vegas. In one of the main card bouts, rising Mexican star Raul Rosas Jr. will share the octagon with American Terrence Mitchell. The fight will take place in the lightweight division.

Raul Rosas is the youngest fighter in the league, only eighteen years old, and has already had two bouts. And he made a thunderous debut last year - with a first-round stoppage victory and big talk about how he was on his way to becoming a champion or even a triple champion. Then, in April of this year, the upset happened - the unheralded Christian Rodriguez beat him by unanimous decision, extinguishing all the hype and ending everything that had started so well. Still, Rosas had a chance to win early in the first round, but Rodriguez took it, adjusted, and was the better man. But it's certainly too early to bury Raul. He is still very young, and this beating will only do him good.

Nobody would be interested in this fighter if it weren't for Mitchell's upcoming fight with Rosas. He's a mediocre guy with no special prospects, and the league has made a wrong decision in signing him. He fought his entire previous career in the AFC and ACE promotions. He had fourteen early wins there and received an invitation to the UFC. He made his debut in July of this year and was knocked out in the first round by Cameron Saaiman (a fighter to watch before he hits the mainstream, by the way).

Terence Mitchell is the perfect opponent for Rosas. First, there's no sympathy for him (he'll be fired soon anyway). Second, he'll be an easy target for the young talent, who will finish him quickly, regain his confidence, and return to the hype train.

There's not much to predict here - the first knockdown will likely be the last. Mitchell's wrestling defense is poor (at the UFC level), and Rosas is a real submission hunter.