Who is the youngest UFC fighter?

The UFC and the world of MMA have been experiencing a wave of new blood, as the fighters seem to be getting younger than ever before. This has resulted in several fighters having a shot at making history and holding unique records within the promotion, and it even extends beyond the UFC.

As the years progress, mixed martial artists are kickstarting their careers earlier than ever before. All around the world, younger fighters have been getting accolades and making history, and the UFC has had its fair share of younger athletes come into the promotion.

Most people already know that current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones became the youngest UFC champion by gaining the light heavyweight title at the age of 23. That is a record that has belonged to Jones since 2011.

It only took three years for Jones to become a UFC champion, he joined the promotion at the age of 20. Despite that being incredibly young, he is not the youngest fighter the UFC has ever signed. The promotion currently has its youngest fighter signed to the promotion.

Raul Rosas Jr. made history when he fought on DWCS at age 17

Raul Rosas Jr. is the youngest fighter in the UFC at present. Rosas Jr. earned a contract into the UFC following an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series when he was just 17 years old. He even had to get permission from his parents to fight. In his early interviews, he lamented about missing pizza day at school.

Rosas was born on Oct. 8, 2004 in Clovis, New Mexico. His amateur career began in January 2020 and he had two matches before kickstarting his professional career in late 2021.

By late 2021, Rosas began fighting for Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico, and would go on to fight five matches there. Just 18 days before his 18th birthday, Rosas got the chance to compete on DWCS.

Rosas secured a unanimous decision victory over his opponent, which resulted in a UFC contract for the teenager. Three fights in the UFC have brought Rosas' overall professional experience close to 10 fights before the age of 20.

Rosas is set to be in action on the UFC Mexico card against Ricky Turcios on Saturday, Feb. 24.