Erosa, 37, said in an interview with Fanatics View that his Oct. 31 matchup against Lee will be his retirement fight, regardless of the result. The longtime featherweight said he wanted to establish a firm end date because neither a victory nor a defeat would necessarily make walking away easier.
Julian Erosa explains why fatherhood and his long-term health influenced his decision to retire after facing Jeong Yeong Lee
Erosa has lost his last two bouts, including a stoppage defeat to Lerryan Douglas in March. “Juicy J” wants to finish his career with a victory against Lee.
“I haven’t really made it a big deal, but this will be my last fight,” Erosa said. “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 explained that winning could tempt him to continue competing, while a defeat might leave him chasing redemption. Erosa also said fatherhood has changed his priorities and that he plans to move his family from Las Vegas back to his home state of Washington.
“The order of things that are important in my life has switched a little bit after having my son,” Erosa added. “Fighting used to be my life and now I have other things that are on top of that. So, I’ve got to look out for those things and if I can get out of fighting with my health intact, that’s what I want.”
Erosa made his UFC debut in 2015 after appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter.” He returned to the promotion after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, but was released after three consecutive losses. He rejoined the UFC in 2020 following a regional victory and has since competed 13 more times in the Octagon, bringing his promotional record to 9-9.