Outside Source
On Monday, WristlockMMA broke the news that Raul Rosas Jr. (11-1) has forced out of his upcoming bantamweight battle with Rob Font (22-8). The two were expected to tussle in the co-headliner of Noche UFC, also known as UFC Fight Night 259, on Sept. 13. The event is set to go down at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. With that match off the table, the promotion has slotted in a lightweight banger between locals Alexander Hernandez (17-8) and Diego Ferreira (19-6). The injury in the first bout and replacement by the second has since been confirmed by multiple outlets on Thursday.
Bad Beat for Mexican Fans
While neither Font nor Rosas Jr. were born in Mexico, losing the latter from the billing is a heavy hit to the Mexican contingent expected among the South Texas crowd. This event is to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, and it was initially booked for Guadalajara, Mexico, only for the venue to not be finished in time. It is currently unknown the reason of Rosas Jr.’s withdrawal, whether due to injury or other causes, or the extent of his layoff. Only a few fighters born in the nation directly south of Texas still remain on Noche UFC: Rafa Garcia, David Martinez, Jesus Santos Aguilar and Montserrat Rendon.
California-born Rosas Jr. made his way to the promotion in 2022 thanks to a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series, where he debuted a few months later as the youngest combatant in organizational history. While his first appearance went well—a tapout of Jay Perrin in just over half a round—he ran into a speedbump in his sophomore effort against Christian Rodriguez, ultimately losing a decision. Since then, the 20-year-old has rattled off four straight wins, the first of two by stoppage.
With a victory in late 2024 springboarding Massachusetts-based Font into a scrap with Jean Matsumoto, the veteran turned the undefeated fighter away via split decision this past February. Font is currently riding his first win streak since 2021, where he racked four triumphs together to get a matchup with Jose Aldo that did not go his way in 2021.
It will be a quick turnaround for San Antonio’s own Hernandez, who knocked out Chase Hooper at UFC 319 in August and wanted a place on this show right down the road from his residence. The knockout was Hernandez’ first since laying out Mike Breeden in 80 seconds in 2021. “The Great Ape” has currently strung three wins together, the longest such stretch of his UFC tenure.
Ferreira saw a knockout streak come to grinding halt in January when Grant Dawson got the better of him across three rounds. Before his setback, the 40-year-old from Brazil punched out Michael Johnson in 2023 and drummed out Mateusz Rebecki with nine seconds left in their 2024 meeting. Those two victories helped put three straight losses in 2021 in the Fortis MMA fighter’s rearview.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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