Athletes
Julian Erosa | Third Time Has Been The Charm
Ahead Of His Home State Return, Tenured Featherweight Talks Finally Sticking On The UFC Roster
The last time Julian Erosa had a serious and vocal cheer squad at a UFC fight was back in December 2015, when he made his first foray into the Octagon against Marcin Wrzosek at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, following his time on Season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Opening the main card against his fellow cast member, “Juicy J” had boisterous support in the balcony level the whole way through as he picked up the split decision win.
This weekend, more than a decade later and after being twice released by the promotion, Erosa will once again have a considerable contingent of hysterical fans in the audience as the Yakima, Washington native returns to his home state to face off with newcomer Lerryan Douglas on the main card of Saturday’s UFC return to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
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“It’s amazing; it kind of comes full circle,” Erosa said on Tuesday evening of competing this close to home. “I spent a lot of my early, regional career as a professional fighter in Tacoma at the Emerald Queen Casino with CageSport; a lot of my fights were there. The majority of my amateur career fights were here in Washington, had a lot of friends and family show up to those fights, so to be able to do it under the UFC banner, in my home state, is absolutely amazing.
“It’s been a long time coming.”
It’s actually quite fitting that it has taken this long for him to get what amounts to a hometown fight because everything about Erosa’s UFC career has taken a little bit longer than expected.
A knockout loss following that win over Wrzosek resulted in the now 36-year-old featherweight being released by the promotion. After a solid two-year run on the regional circuit that included a debated decision loss to Paddy Pimblett and a couple CageSport title wins, Erosa got a chance to compete on the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series.
Despite earning a second-round knockout win over future (and current) UFC competitor Jamall Emmers, he wasn’t awarded a contract but did earn a short-notice call less than five months later that kicked off his second tour of duty competing inside the Octagon. Three consecutive losses resulted in another return to CageSport and another win in Tacoma before another short-notice opportunity in the early days of the pandemic era opened the door for a third stint on the UFC roster.
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“I think the biggest thing for me was I was in a mindset of ‘I have nothing to lose,’” Erosa said of his outlook heading into his June 2020 clash with Sean Woodson, who had earned a contract the previous summer and defeated Kyle Bochniak in his promotional debut. “I had already been cut twice from the UFC, was 1-4 in the UFC, and I was the biggest underdog (on the card). I was basically the sheep they were herding out to get slaughtered by Sean Woodson.
“It was actually the least anxiety and stress and nerves I’d had in the UFC because I had nothing to lose; everybody already thought I was the guy they were bringing in to lose.”
Though he fell behind on the scorecards, Erosa never stopped pressing, and midway through the third round, locked up a brabo choke that brought him the upset win, a second UFC victory, and a Performance of the Night bonus to boot. Eight months later, he knocked out Nate Landwehr, and he’s been a fixture in the featherweight division ever since.
Now, almost six years since that fight with Woodson, Erosa gets the chance to compete in his home state, having gone 8-4 during his current run on the roster and established himself as an all-action attraction in the 145-pound weight class.
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“Early on in my UFC career, I was so fixated on ‘If I just do what I did on the regional scene, I’m gonna get bonuses!’ I was counting my chickens before they hatched a little bit, and I just thought it was gonna come more naturally,” admitted Erosa, reflecting on the contrast between his first two stints and his approach heading into the pivotal fight with Woodson. “What I found out was that I was building it up so big that it was putting more stress and anxiety on me to go out and try to perform the way I used to in the regional scene.
“That was the breaking point for me: thinking that my UFC career was over, any big show was gonna be over, but then getting that random, three-days’ notice fight against Sean Woodson (where it’s like) ‘You know what? I ain’t got nothing to lose! Let’s f****** do the damn thing!’”
“That was the personification of my whole fighting career, that fight,” he added with a smile. “The way I come back and choke him out in the third round, probably down two rounds, but you can never count ‘Juicy J’ out, so that is probably the most important fight to me in my entire career.”
Highlight: Julian Erosa Locks Up A 3rd-Round Submission | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Till
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Highlight: Julian Erosa Locks Up A 3rd-Round Submission | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Till
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That win opened the door that Erosa has since kicked off the hinges with his perpetually entertaining brand of fighting, which has in turn allowed the Xtreme Couture representative to grow into the highly respect, must-see attraction he is today.
Simply put, Erosa is allergic to being in a boring fight, and while things don’t always go his way, you know that if he’s scheduled to make the walk, you’re going to want to be paying close attention once he steps in the Octagon because chances are something is about to go down.
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“It means everything to me,” Erosa said of his well-earned reputation as a must-see competitor and pro’s pro. “I’m not a guy that a lot of people call out because yeah, they might get a highlight reel for themselves, or they might get put on a highlight reel.
“I’m so glad I was able to showcase my abilities on the big stage at least one time,” continued the divisional mainstay, who had put together a three-fight run of first-round finishes before dropping a decision to surging Brazilian Melquizael Costa last May in a bout that earned the tandem Fight of the Night honors. “My first UFC fight that I won by split decision wasn’t the cream of the crop in terms of my fighting ability, so having that Sean Woodson fight was everything to me. Being able to string together other (good performances), highlight reels — jumping, flying knees; D’arce chokes, Fight of the Nights; I’m so satisfied with what I’ve been able to do on a third stint that I thought was unattainable.”
Saturday night in Seattle, his reputation as a tough out and quality measuring stick in the 145-pound weight class lands him across the cage from the debuting Douglas, a 30-year-old newcomer who collected a contract with a 36-second stoppage win last season on the Contender Series and has put together an outstanding resume since teaming up with Cub Swanson and the Bloodline Combat Sports crew.
“It’s his debut, but he is a 30-year-old guy, been around the block in his own right, and he’s got power in his hands,” Erosa said of Douglas, who has earned five straight stoppage wins to advance to 13-5 as he readies to make the walk for the first time. “This is one of those guys that has always been dangerous to my fighting style, my abilities as a power puncher, so I really wanna test myself against that type of guy.
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“The only times I’ve ever been finished is TKOs and knockouts — I’ve never been submitted — so it’s almost like I wanna get it back, and that means to fight a guy that has always been my issue, my problem. Doesn’t mean I haven’t beaten guys that have power in their hands — I’ve had a million fights — but I’ve lost to these guys, I’ve won against these guys, and I wanna just redeem myself and there is no better place to do that than in Seattle, under the UFC banner.
“I really wanna push the action and be defensively sound early on so I don’t take any of those big shots and then break him down throughout the fight.”
For Erosa, this weekend isn’t just about him — it’s about the entire contingent of fighters from the Pacific Northwest that are getting to fight at home, and the support they’ll collectively receive from everyone with roots in the region rooting for them in unison as they hit the cage throughout the course of the night.
“(Michael) Chiesa’s fighting, (Chase) Hooper, Ricky Simon, Terrance McKinney — we have so many guys that are from the Northwest on this card that their fanbase is gonna be screaming for everybody that’s a local, so it’s gonna be unreal and unmatched,” he said with a widening grin. “I fought a lot in Washington state on the smaller shows, but to be in an arena that can hold huge multiples of these small shows I used to fight on is gonna be awesome and amazing.
“Knowing that my friends and family that I see on a regular basis when I come home to visit are gonna be in those stands is gonna be unreal, gives me extra motivation,” continued Erosa. “But if I can get my hand raised? That’d be the cherry on top.”
UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Pyfer took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on March 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!