What happened in this Sports story?

Twenty-one-year-old Raul Rosas Jr., already the youngest UFC signee and youngest ranked fighter, headlines his first UFC card Saturday against 39-year-old Raoni Barcelos, who rides a five-fight win streak all against younger opponents.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Raul Rosas Jr.** becomes the youngest fighter to headline a UFC card at age 21, having signed his UFC contract at 17 and cracked the bantamweight rankings before turning 22.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Raoni Barcelos** enters Saturday's main event on a five-fight win streak, each victory over a younger opponent, including Payton Talbott, who was a massive betting favorite and now co-headlines UFC 332.

Rosas Headlines Youngest UFC Card vs Barcelos — SkimNews

By CBS Sports · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-25

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Raul Rosas Jr. becomes the youngest fighter to headline a UFC card at age 21, having signed his UFC contract at 17 and cracked the bantamweight rankings before turning 22.
Raoni Barcelos enters Saturday's main event on a five-fight win streak, each victory over a younger opponent, including Payton Talbott, who was a massive betting favorite and now co-headlines UFC 332.
Rosas told CBS Sports "I'm ready to die in that cage on Saturday night," framing the fight as decisive for his championship dreams and his stated plan to retire by 25.
The co-main event features top-five women's bantamweight contenders Norma Dumont and Ailin Perez, six weeks before Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes fight for the UFC title.
Rinya Nakamura, a Wrestling World Cup medalist, closes out the prelims against Brady Hiestand in a bout originally scheduled two years ago.
The card takes place at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 26 (8 p.m. ET main card, 5 p.m. ET prelims), airing exclusively on Paramount+.
The expert pick goes to Barcelos via split decision, citing his 87% takedown defense and camps spent preparing for elite grapplers like Umar Nurmagomedov and Ricky Simon, outweighing concerns about his age over 25 minutes.

Why it matters: The main event puts precocious talent (Rosas, 21) against age-defying experience (Barcelos, 39), and the expert pick — Barcelos via split decision — leans on his 87% takedown defense and track record against younger opponents, suggesting Rosas' self-imposed deadline to become champion by 25 could face its first serious test.