Fil-Am Ricky Turcios returns to the Octagon

MANILA, Philippines – It has been a little over a year since 30-year-old Filipino-Ecuadorian-American Ricky Turcios fought inside the octagon. After dispatching fellow Filipino Kevin Natividad in November of 2022, Turcios skipped the entire 2023 to train.

“I worked on a more all-around game,” said Turcios in an exclusive interview. “As you go higher in the UFC, you take on better fighters and who are more skilled. If I want to go to the next level, I need to improve my fighting game.”

This Sunday, February 25, in UFC Fight Night Moreno vs Royval 2, mixed martial arts fans will get to see if this new and improved Turcios (13-3-0) has what it takes. 

He will be up against Raul Rosas Jr. (8-1-0), who is a mirror image of Turcios — all-out action, highly unpredictable with unorthodox moves, and a no-quit attitude.

During the Natividad fight, he got dropped to the canvas by a knee to the face. 

“I looked at the fight clock and I saw that I had three minutes left in the round to change the outcome. That’s me — no quit.”

The Texas native did and eked out a split decision. 

“I knew I would be meeting Rosas down the line,” admitted Turcios of his UFC Fight Night foe. “So I have to be a better version of myself.”

Both have the same height and weight; fight style. Except that Rosas is 11 years Turcios’ junior. 

In his year off, Turcios also adapted his game on the fly. “Listen, I have been fighting and wrestling since high school. Sometimes, in the middle of a fight, I will go, ‘I’ve seen this move before.’ Here I am in a UFC fight and I have flashbacks. But I have to improve my thinking and adaptability.”

The Rosas-Turcios bantamweight bout — the third of the main card fights lined up — could be a candidate for “Fight of the Night”. 

It sets up the main events in Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega in a featherweight match, and Brandon Moreno versus Brandon Royval — a rematch in the flyweight division.  

“I know it could be and it is on the main card. But I am focusing on the win. If I get the bonus, great. If not, a win is a win and any win you can walk away with is always good.”

The card will be televised live in the Philippines on the Premier Sports channel on Sky Cable and Cignal as well as on the Blast TV streaming application. The preliminary card kicks off at 9 a.m. with the main card at 11 a.m.