Julian Erosa ‘wants to keep the train rolling’ after winning his UFC return
After leaving the UFC following his loss to Julio Arce in May of 2019, featherweight Julian Erosa has been working towards getting a return invite to the promotion.
Following a win in CageSport to kick off his 2020 in February, Erosa got the call to face Sean Woodson at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker on June 27 on short notice, and he jumped at the opportunity, picking up a third round submission win in the process.
“It was a hurricane of events that happened,” Erosa told MMAWeekly.com. “There wasn’t really any time to digest the situation. I accepted the fight, had to do medicals, had to cut, made weight, hydrated, then fought the next day.
“I think it can be ideal for some people who don’t want to deal with the whole stress of a fight camp. I had no idea for a long time, so I was just training and having a good time, and only really had to think about it for a few days.”
Coming off a three fight losing streak in his most recent UFC run, to be able to return to the company with such a strong performance is something Erosa has wanted to have for a long time.
“Honestly I’m just happy with be able to perform in the octagon like I perform in the gym,” said Erosa. “You want to come see me spar, our sparring days, you’ll see the same type of work ethic, the same type of grittiness and pressure that I put on the cage on Saturday night. I was happy for it to translate.
“The last few times I’ve been in the UFC, it hasn’t worked out the best for me, and it wasn’t even win, lose, or draw, I just wanted to showcase what I do on an every day basis, and I’m just glad I was able to do that.”
As for fighting in a closed off venue without a crowd, Erosa had previously competed in a similar situation, and feels like he was able to use the set up to his advantage.
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“I was on The Ultimate Fighter, and it’s pretty much you, your opponent, your coaches and their coaches,” Erosa said. “It was pretty similar circumstances.
“I actually prefer it because you can hear your coaches a lot better, and you can hear their coaches a lot better. I actually like that because once the fight goes more in my direction I can hear when their coaches are feeling frustrated and frantic, so that helps my momentum and confidence as well.”
Now that he’s back in the UFC with a win under his belt, Erosa is looking forward to building off of his performance and riding it to more opportunities with the promotion in 2020.
“I’ve got a (medical) suspension because of a cut over my eye, so I’ll let things heal up, but honestly I’d like to fight sometime in September,” said Erosa. “I want to keep the train rolling. I don’t want to take too much time off. I have no problem getting right back in there.
“I’m going to talk to my coaches and my management, find a good opponent for myself, really wrap our minds around a good game plan for it, and set myself up for good things in my future.”
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Julian Erosa ‘wants to keep the train rolling’ after winning his UFC return
