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UFC Mexico City: Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval continues on the main card with a fight between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios in a bantamweight matchup. Rosas Jr. got back on track after suffering his first professional defeat with a first-round TKO victory his last time out meanwhile, Turcious also got back into the win column with a split decision victory as he comes into his fight in Mexico City. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Rosas Jr.-Turcios prediction and pick.
Raul Rosas Jr. (8-1) the young Mexican phenom hit the ground running with a dominant Contender Series performance, earning him a UFC contract. He has since gone 2-1 inside the octagon most recently defeating Terrence Mitchell in just 54 seconds after suffering his first professional defeat to Christian Rodriguez. Now, Rosas Jr. will look to get back onto a winning streak in front of his home crowd when he takes on Ricky Turcios this weekend.
Ricky Turcios (12-3) secured his spot in the UFC by winning season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter with a razor-close split-decision victory against Brady Hiestand. Since that victory, Turcious has gone 1-1 in the promotion most recently edging out a close split decision against former UFC fighter Kevin Natividad. Turcios will look to stop the hype train of Raul Rosas Jr. in hostile territory this weekend in Mexico City.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC Mexico City Odds: Raul Rosas Jr-Ricky Turcios Odds
Raul Rosas Jr.: -220
Ricky Turcios: +185
Over 2.5 rounds: -160
Under 2.5 rounds: +130
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Why Raul Rosas Jr. Will Win
Raul Rosas Jr. is currently the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at 19 years of age. He was originally 17 years old when he was first signed by the UFC when he defeated Mando Gutierrez in the Contender Series. Dana White and the UFC loved what they saw from the young prospect even without getting the finish, giving him the contract and making his debut three months later. He now gets to take on Ricky Turcios in his fourth fight with the promotion, hoping to continue his rise up the bantamweight rankings.
Rosas Jr. has some elite grappling skills while his striking is still a work in progress. He will be looking to get this fight to the mat as early as possible much like he did against Terrance Mitchell, where he should have a significant edge over Turcios in this matchup. As long as Rosas Jr. can impose his will on Turcios he should be able to control him for the vast majority of this fight and extend his winning streak.
Why Ricky Turcios Will Win
Ricky Turcios got his first shot to fight in the UFC on the Contender Series back in 2017 where he lost a unanimous decision to Boston Salmon. Since then, he went on a 2-1 run until he got the call to compete on The Ultimate Fighter as he edged out Dan Argueta, Liudvuk Sholinian, and Brady Hiestand on the scorecards to win the show and the title of The Ultimate Fighter.
Turcios is now just 1-1 after winning the show and most recently fought 15 months ago winning a very unimpressive split decision against Kevin Natividad. He is at his best when he's on his feet, throwing volume from awkward angles just to make his opponents constantly have to work against him. This is something he will need to do to keep out of the grasp of Rosas Jr. If Turcios could just make it hard for Rosas Jr. to get a read on him he could potentially score the upset and get back on a winning streak.
Final Raul Rosas Jr-Ricky Turcios Prediction & Pick
This should be a great scrap in the bantamweight division between these two prospects. Needless to say, Turcios has underperformed so far during his time in the UFC. His performance against Aiemann Zahabi was a bizarre one as he was just throwing attacks at a distance with no substance and no chance of landing them. While he did more of the same against Natividad, he had a bit more urgency that just barely got him the win.
In this matchup against Rosas Jr. that doesn't seem to be enough to get the job done. Rosas Jr.'s elite grappling abilities will stifle that kind of funky style by always forcing him to the cage and to defend takedowns. Ultimately, Turcios will attempt to keep this fight at kicking range but with his inability to throw anything that will hurt Rosas Jr. he will be able to just walk through those attacks and take Turcious down and control him for the vast majority of the fight to get the win on the judge's scorecards.
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Final Raul Rosas Jr-Ricky Turcios Prediction & Pick: Raul Rosas Jr. (-220), Over 2.5 Rounds (-160)
