Julian Erosa knew he would not only beat Charles Jourdain but would finish him despite taking it on short notice.
Erosa took the fight on 10 days’ notice and was confident he had the skill set to defeat him. He knew he was the more technical striker and had a big advantage on the ground. So, for Erosa, he said the game plan was to not get into a brawl and as the fight started to play out, to then implement his grappling.
“Even though it was a short notice fight, Charles Jourdain is a typical southpaw as his left kick, and the right hook are his main weapons,” Erosa said to BJPENN.com. “I was able to keep the distance better and I saw everything a lot better. I didn’t want to get into a brawl right off the bat as I knew if I could bring the fight to the later rounds his power would drain and that is when I would have success with the grappling. That is what I did as for me, I find it easier to find a submission in the later rounds, even though we are sweaty, that’s just me though.”
Although Erosa didn’t want to get into a brawl, there were points in the fight that happened. He ended up getting dropped in the second round, yet he says he was never rocked. Instead, Julian Erosa believes it was more him being off-balance as well as Jourdain hitting him with a good shot.
“I was fully aware. It was a weird situation, I was standing straight up and he did hit me with a good shot, but I was a bit off-balance,” Erosa said. “To be honest, he hit me way better and harder a few times in that fight that I took. I was never in danger and I was hoping he would try and go to the ground so I could start grappling there.”
With Julian Erosa pulling off the upset, he is now 3-1 in his third stint in the UFC. He has also become a fan favorite and one fight that many fans brought up as a potential next bout is a rematch with Paddy Pimblett as they fought in Cage Warriors with Pimblett with a controversial decision. However, Erosa says that’s a fight that he doesn’t think will happen.
“As of right now featherweight is my division but I could see myself rematching Paddy again,” Erosa said. “I do think Paddy has a lot of work to do and I have all the skills to beat him even worse than I did before, despite him getting the hometown decision.”
With Erosa not thinking a Pimblett rematch happens, “Juicy J” has a name in mind for his next and that is Steven Peterson. He says it’s a fight that makes sense for the division and he believes Peterson has been disrespectful towards him so he wants to beat him up.
“I have already bugged my manager to get me one more this year, maybe December. But, I’ve also told him I’m always ready for anything short notice so if anything comes up that he thinks is a good matchup I’ll take it,” Erosa concluded. “I want Steven Peterson because he called out Nate Landwehr but that’s a guy I already knocked out and he’s booked anyway. It’s a fight that makes sense, I have messaged him, commented on his pictures to check his DM’s about fighting me. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, I just want some acknowledgment as if he doesn’t want to fight me, that’s no big deal, I won’t talk s**t. I just think it’s a fun fight and a fight that makes sense. All I’m looking for is a fight, but now that he has ignored me, I think it’s disrespectful and I want to beat him up.”
Would you like to see Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson?