Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a long and rich history with Brazil, which produced some of the greatest champions in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). That includes former middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva and ex-featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo, among others.
But it may be time to make way for the new kid on the block.
That’s according to former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who suggested the next generation of Mexican fighters, including 19 year-old bantamweight phenom Raul Rosas Jr., could “dominate” the UFC landscape — assuming that hastily-chosen retirement age is put on hold for a couple of years.
“A lot of kids who would have maybe gone into boxing would start doing MMA and not just doing kickboxing or jiu-jitsu, like MMA as a whole and then it’s going to be, in a few generations you’ll see like a wave of Mexican fighters who have that Mexican spirit,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “You’ll see them like just dominating the UFC.”
Mexico’s Alexa Grasso defends her women’s flyweight title against longtime rival and fellow Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32 coach Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC 306 “Noche” pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event inside The Sphere this Sat. night (Sept. 14, 2024) in honor of Mexican Independence Day.
“Could be, who knows how many generations, but kind of is already happening slowly,” Adesanya continued. “I look forward to it. I like seeing Mexicans, like I think even with this card, it’s going to bring that spirit. I think you’re going to see some crazy fights, some really crazy fights just because the essence of Mexican fighting.”
That essence was powerful enough to launch an entire promotion.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 306 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 306: “O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 306 fight card and PPV lineup click here.