Raul Rosas Jr. picked up his fourth straight victory at UFC Mexico, grinding out a unanimous decision win over Vince Morales but the biggest threat to his win wasn’t Morales’ late submission attempt. It was Rosas’ own gas tank.
Heading into the third round, Rosas Jr was clearly ahead on the scorecards. That’s when Morales, desperate for a finish, latched onto a tight D’Arce choke that had the 20-year-old prospect visibly grimacing. Still, despite several adjustments from Morales, he couldn’t lock it in deep enough to get the finish.
Looking back on the moment, Rosas says he was never really in danger and definitely not about to tap.
“To be honest, I wasn’t going to tap regardless,” Rosas told MMA Fighting. “Any choke, I could’ve stayed in there for five minutes—no problem. If someone actually manages to finish a choke on me, then that means it’s a perfect choke. In training, I let people start with the choke fully locked in, and I just sit there until their arms gas out. I trained for Vince’s D’Arce. I’ve felt it before—I trained with him a year and a half ago. I never tap.”
Rosas explained that his training camp included specific drills where teammates would start with tight D’Arce chokes and try to finish him, just so he’d be ready.
“The deepest one Vince got was probably the last one,” he said. “But even that was like 55% out of 100. It was uncomfortable, yeah, but not enough to make me pass out or get finished.”
What did almost take him out? The Mexico City altitude.
Fighters have struggled for years with the thin air at elevation, and Rosas learned the hard way. Despite trying to prepare, he admits he felt completely drained, especially after the first round.
“When the first round ended, I was dead,” Rosas said. “Zero left in me. My arms were gone. That’s why I didn’t throw much after that. I went to the corner and all I could say was ‘Water. Give me water.’ I stood up for Round 2, saw Morales bouncing around fresh, and I was like ‘F*ck.’ I got a flashback to the Christian Rodriguez fight. I was like, ‘Nah. I’m not letting that happen again. I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m winning tonight.’”
That loss to Rodriguez in 2023, his only career setback, was a hard lesson. He ran out of gas and couldn’t recover. But this time, even though his body was failing him, he pushed through.
“By Round 3, I wasn’t just tired, I was dead,” he said. “It went from zero to negative. That’s the most exhausted I’ve ever felt in a fight. That’s why I’m proud of myself. I dug deep. Even the next day, I was still out of breath like I had just run 10 miles. My body was wrecked.”
Despite the physical toll, Rosas still walked away with a decision win, and a valuable lesson.
“Not perfect, but perfect in its own way,” he said. “I learned how to fight when I’m that tired. I didn’t get the finish, but I managed the fight and found a way to win. That’s something I needed to experience. You can’t finish everyone, and now I know how to go three full rounds if I have to.”
As for fighting in Mexico City again, Rosas isn’t ruling it out, but he knows next time, he’ll need a better setup.
“I’m always down for a challenge,” he said. “If it’s a big opportunity, I’d do it again. But it’s tough when my whole team can’t come, smaller camp, fewer training partners. It’s not just the altitude. But now that I’ve been through it once, I know what to expect. I’d be more ready next time.”
