Julian Erosa’s third octagon stint continues to pale in comparison to his first after he put away Christian Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday.
Erosa (29-11 MMA, 8-7 UFC) has now won seven of 10 fights since returning to the promotion in June 2020 courtesy of a first-round submission win over Rodriguez (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at Ball Arena in Denver.
During a scramble after catching a kick, Erosa managed to snatch the neck of Rodriguez and lock in a guillotine choke that forced the tap at the 4:49 mark of Round 1. Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):
RIGHT BEFORE THE BELL 🚨@JuicyJ_Erosa gets the first round stoppage! #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/Xih1pUtNFn
— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2024
With the win, Erosa now has 24 stoppages out of 29 career wins and said he’s ready to keep the momentum rolling with more entertaining fights.
“I just love to bang,” Erosa said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “I just love to put on a show for the fans.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:
- Julian Erosa def. Christian Rodriguez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:49
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage ruled no contest (accidental illegal strikes) – Round 1, 0:37
- Charles Johnson def. Joshua Van via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:20
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Fatima Kline via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Montel Jackson def. Da’Mon Blackshear via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:18
- Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:27
- Andre Petroski def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Evan Elder def. Darrius Flowers via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:46
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.