Las Vegas, NV — Paired up with a dangerous Muay Thai striker in Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 279 this Saturday, Julian Erosa admits that the temptation to wrestle is there.
“I mean maybe. I think every fight, I’m looking forward to mixing everything up,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press during this week’s media day. “I think what just happens is, things go out the window. When you get punched in the face, when your life’s on the line — well not necessarily your life is on the line, but the fight is on the line — things just kind of come out naturally. My natural reaction is 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 [Steven] Peterson fight where I’m just scrapping real hard.”
Erosa, now on his third stint with the UFC, last fought at the T-Mobile Arena at UFC 196 in 2016. That would be the night Nate Diaz shocked the world by submitting Conor McGregor. Erosa lost a fight to Teruto Ishihara that night.
“Diaz was the main event, short notice against Conor McGregor, and he shocked the world. Maybe that can happen again, but it just seems like it’s a little bit full circle,” Erosa noted. “It’s nice, I’ve had a little bit of practice since the last time I was out there. I feel like I’m a bit more comfortable— I was a young kid in the fight game and a bit naive the first time I fought there. The lights got a little bit to me. But like I said, I’ve got a little bit more experience now and I feel like it’s going to be a bit better for me there.”
Watch the full UFC 279 media day appearance by Julian Erosa above.
