A 17-year-old kid is on the cusp of UFC history after signing a deal to fight on Dana White's Contender Series

• Raul Rosas Jr. is a 17-year-old MMA fighter who is unbeaten after five pro matches.
• He has reportedly signed a deal to compete on Dana White's Contender Series this season.

A 17-year-old kid called Raul Rosas Jr. is on the cusp of UFC history after signing a deal to fight on Dana White's Contender Series.

Dana White's Contender Series is a weekly show airing every Tuesday. It is a separate entity to the UFC and designed to funnel promising talent to the Las Vegas-based market-leading MMA promotion.

Athletes can come from regional promotions, looking to take their careers to the next level or, in the case of Rosas, simply show great potential.

The Californian teenager has fought five pro bouts already, winning all his contests in Mexico by rear-naked choke (twice), armbar (twice) and knockout via punches.

During a brief six-match amateur career Rosas also remained unbeaten.

This week, MMA Junkie reported that Rosas has signed a deal to compete against 25-year-old submission specialist Mando Gutierrez in a bantamweight fight on the Contender Series, on September 20.

ESPN Deportes was first to report the news.

—Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) August 16, 2022

The Nevada Athletic Commission, the regulatory body that oversees Contender Series contests at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, usually only licenses fighters between 18 and 38 years of age, according to MMA Junkie.

Younger fighters like Rosas will have their license reviewed by the commission, according to its charter. Rosas' license also carried parental approval.

Rosas will make history if White signs him to the UFC

Victory in a Contender Series match is not enough to guarantee a UFC contract, as the primary objective for athletes is to impress White. But should Rosas do so, he'd make history as the youngest UFC athlete … by far.

The current combatant to hold that record is Chase Hooper, who UFC signed when he was a 19-year-old novice.

Hooper, now 21, has a pro MMA record of 11 wins (four knockouts, five submissions, and two decisions) against two losses.

White signed only one Contender Series athlete in the first episode of the sixth and current season of the show, earlier in the summer.

The 53-year-old fight promoter has, in total, distributed UFC contracts to 10 Contender Series athletes this year.