UFC featherweight, Julian Erosa, in currently on his third tenure in the UFC, and is beginning to live up to the potential that has always been evident. Having already submitted the undefeated Sean Woodson, Erosa faced the ever-exciting Nate Landwehr at UFC Vegas 19.
In what was an exhilarating 60 seconds of pure violence, the two fighters clashed in an extreme battle of wills. Despite slipping to one knee early, Erosa got back up and forced Landwehr back. After a wild flurry of strikes from both fighters, Landwehr got clipped and backed up to the cage. This led to an extraordinary flying switch knee from Erosa, momentarily knocking out his opponent and forcing the ref to step in.
An Interview With ‘Juicy J’
Following the impressive win, Julian Erosa took the time to speak with LowKick MMA about his impressive victory, as well as what the future holds for ‘Juicy J.’
“I figured I was gonna be the quicker guy” said Erosa in regards to Landwehr. “I felt like I was outclassing him in every aspect of MMA, but I figured for sure that he was gonna be a tough durable guy. The only thing that really surprised me was the fact I was able to finish him so quick. That doesn’t surprise me on my end, but watching his fights, he’s a durable guy. He’s a tough guy and he likes to put the pace on people. Everything happened the way I figured it would, it just happened a little quicker than I thought it would.”
Whilst the fight only went 60 seconds before Erosa finished it, he was clipped by Landwehr early on and fell to one knee. He discussed how hurt he actually was in the following:
“I think it was a little bit of an off balance, as well as getting hit. I really wasn’t rocked. There was a slight hesitation that I had because of it. He didn’t flash me. He just hit me and I sort of fell over at the same time. Anytime something like that looks bad in a fight, or in training, it kinda lights a fuse and then I’m just going. It’s almost like the gun at a race. As soon as that happens you just take off sprinting, and thats kinda what happened. Everything was pretty technical and then that happened. Then it was just an all out brawl for about 15 seconds. Then I pushed him off me and hit that flying knee.”
In regards to Erosa’s future in the UFC, he had two names that he was especially interested in:
“I wanted to fight a guy like (Alex) Caceres, that’d be a fun fight. I wanted to fight Jordan Griffin, he’s kinda caught my eye as well. There’s a couple of guys like that who I would like to fight, and that I think would give me good fight and chase some bonuses down as well. Kinda have some fun. People are always talking about trying to chase a belt, but for me, fightings just something I love to do.“
“I asked my manager if Jordan Griffin wanted to fight me, and I never got an answer-back. With Caceres, I’ve always been a fan of his. I feel like me and he have two different striking styles, but they’re both entertaining. I feel like me and he would put on a good show for everybody.“
“Maybe we can fight in May or June.“