“I’m going to fight until I’m done fighting, and then we’ll move back when I’m done,” Julian Erosa said. For the UFC veteran, family life now takes precedence over fighting. It doesn’t matter if he wins or lose, Erosa will call it a career once the face-off against Jeong Yeong Lee is over. The pair will met in the preliminary card of the Fight Night headlined by Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan at Meta APEX on Saturday, October 31.

“I haven’t really made it a big deal, but this will be my last fight,” Erosa told James Lynch on Fanatics View.

The decision centers around the shift in Erosa’s priorities. He now looks forward to a life where his family, especially his young son, takes center stage. Erosa plans to relocate with his family to his home state, Washington and take over his mother’s business.

“I just wanted to give myself one more opportunity to try to get my hand raised, but I wanted to make it a date of when I was going to be done because I think the problem is, win, lose, or draw, I’m going to want to fight again,” he said.

“So, I have to make a date because if I win the fight, all I want to do after I win a fight is do it again, because it’s the best feeling, obviously, for us fighters to win a fight in the UFC.”

Years of training and competing against younger fighters have worn on Erosa’s health.

“If I can get out of fighting with my health intact, that’s what I want,” he said. “And so I think one more fight, you know…I’m 37, and I’m just getting tired, you know.

“It’s just that I do well against the kids that are coming up in the sport in the gym, but man, they’re getting younger, they’re getting better, and they’re having more energy. Either that or I’m losing it. So, for me, even though I do well and even if I win my fight, I need to make sure that I stick to that and just move on.”

The significance of Erosa’s decision is notable given it is the first time in his career he has contemplated such a move.

Julian Erosa: Fighting beyond the limits

It’s been nearly 16 years since the former CageSport featherweight and lightweight champion has been fighting. The period includes three stints in the UFC. After making his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighters 22, Erosa faced Teruto Ishihara on March 5, 2016, losing the bout via second-round KO.

Following the defeat, UFC released Erosa, who subsequently returned to regional promotions, including CageSport, where he suffered a decision loss to Paddy Pimblett in an attempt for the featherweight title. Erosa later claimed the championship after stopping Justin Harrington on February 25, 2017.

After he became CageSport’s lightweight champion on December 16, 2017, Erosa returned to the UFC after knocking out Jamall Emmmers at Dana White’s Contender Series 11 on June 26, 2018. As in the previous case, this too, the run proved disastrous for Erosa, who suffered three consecutive losses, resulting in the UFC releasing him again.

After a brief stint in CageSport, where he stopped AJ Bryant on February 22, 2020, Erosa returned to the UFC, competing at the UFC Vegas 4 on June 27, 2020. Excluding the outcome of the upcoming bout against Yeong Lee, Erosa records 8 wins against 5 losses in his third UFC stint.

Despite the pressure and setbacks, which often force fighters to look for other opportunities, Erosa kept pushing forward. While he may not have captured a UFC title, his tenure has earned him well-deserved respect from his peers.