LAS VEGAS – After five straight pandemic-era fights at the UFC Apex, Julian Erosa finally will be back in front of fans Saturday.
Erosa (27-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC) meets Hakeem Dawodu (13-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout to close out the UFC 279 preliminary card (ESPNews) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s been more than three years since Erosa fought in front of a normal house of fans in the UFC in what was his second stint with he promotion.
Now in his third stint, it’s not like fighting at the Apex has been a bad thing for the Las Vegas-based Erosa. After a win outside the UFC snapped a three-fight skid that led to his exit from the promotion, Erosa has won four of five at the UFC’s regular “Sin City” Fight Night base – including three by stoppage with a pair of bonuses.
“I think I was doing good at the Apex because I was kind of at the end of my rope,” Erosa said at Wednesday’s UFC 209 media day. “I was kind of do-or-die with the Sean Woodson fight, and even the fight after that, and then losing in between the five fights that I had, I kind of felt a little bit of the desperation to go out there and show up and showcase what I can do.”
The Woodson fight was Erosa’s return to the UFC in June 2020 after one fight away, and it came on short notice. He made the most of it with a third-round submission and a Performance of the Night bonus.
He followed that up with a flying-knee knockout of Nate Landwehr in February 2021 just 56 seconds into their fight. After a loss to Seung Woo Choi later that year, Erosa has back-to-back wins over Charles Jourdain and Steven Peterson.
A win over Dawodu might prove to be the most solid of the bunch, though, in his recent run. The Canadian has won six of seven fights since a loss in his UFC debut in 2018. All but one of those wins have been by decision, and Erosa acknowledged Dawodu’s technical muay Thai prowess in the cage.
“Maybe (I’ll grapple),” he said. “I think every fight, I’m looking forward to mixing everything up. I think what just happens is things go out the window. When you get punched in the face and not necessarily your life is on the line, but the fight is on the line, then things just kind of come out. My natural reaction is just to brawl. I definitely want to grapple, I want to wrestle, I want to strike with him – I want to do everything. But you might see another Peterson fight where I’m just scrapping real hard.
“I’m definitely a bit scrappier and dirtier. I’m not as technical as he is, for sure. But I’ve given technical fighters a bit of an issue with being a bit dirty and making it dirty.”
Check out Erosa’s full media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
