If anyone knows tough, it’s Rosa, who faces Damon Jackson this Saturday in Las Vegas. It’s a chance for the veteran to have his first two-fight winning streak in the UFC, a bizarre fact considering that the Peabody native has been part of the roster since 2014. But when you’re fighting killers every night, sometimes things just don’t go your way.
“The thing is, all these fights are so tough,” he said. “Every time you get in there in the UFC, there’s no tomato cans like there are in boxing or other promotions. You don’t build your record in the UFC. You’re there to be the champion. I feel that every guy that’s signed, especially in the featherweight division, is capable of being champion. It’s just when the stars align and things work out. They gotta be healthy, get the right training, so all these fights, they’ll basically be title fights in any other promotion.”
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He’s not exaggerating, so even though Rosa is coming off a win over Justin Jaynes in June, there’s no opportunity for him to take his foot off the gas, because the next opponent will be just as tough.
“I go into every fight to win, and I’ll win one, lose one, win one, lose one, and when I get that big win, it’s usually a sigh of relief, but I’m coming up on the last fight of my contract, so there’s really no sigh of relief,” Rosa said. “I went back in the gym the next day after the win, got right back to work, and I got this fight pretty quick. So I want to get this first two-fight win streak. It will mean more than anything to me to get on a good winning streak in the UFC, because you know how fast you climb once you get on these winning streaks. It takes only two or three wins and before you know it, you’re a main event in Boston. The fans are back, the hype is going, and it will take a couple after that to be a world champion. It all happens real quick, so I’m ready for the ride.”
