Julian Erosa Looking for a Win Over Mike Joy at Saturday’s CageSport to Further His Career

Following a 9-0 start to his career, Northwest featherweight prospect Julian Erosa has lost two of three fights and is coming off what may be his most disappointing year of fighting so far.

“I’m kind of disappointed,” said Erosa of his 2013. “I didn’t get to fight much and one was against an opponent that I had already fought before. I was supposed to fight a couple other times, but people dropped out, so I didn’t get to fight very much.

“I’m trying to make 2014 a better year just by being more active and also getting on a winning track again and be able to win the fights that I should be able to win.”

Erosa feels one of those fights he should have won but let slip through his fingers was his most recent loss to Lee Morrison in CageSport last July.

“My last fight against Lee is a fight I could have won, but I just didn’t perform the way I should have,” said Erosa. “That stuff just kind of happens sometimes and you just have to take a loss and move on to your next opponent.”

The loss showed Erosa that he needed to shore up one aspect of his game he had previously neglected.

“I’ve been working mainly on using my wrestling a little more offensively,” he said. “Normally I’d use my wrestling defensively and win a fight off my back or standing up, but there’s more to it than that, there’s a whole top game you’ve got to have.

“I don’t want to be that guy who can just strike or throw subs off my back.”

Erosa (10-2) will get plenty of opportunity to show off his wrestling skills on Feb. 8 in Tacoma, Wash., when he returns to CageSport to take on veteran Mike Joy (11-6) in a feature bout on the evening’s card.

“I’m just happy I got a fight, really,” Erosa told MMAWeekly.com. “I was actually supposed to fight Mike Joy a few times, but it had never panned out before, so I’m happy to know that he’s who I’m fighting this time.

“He’s one of those explosive wrestler types who is going to try to take me down, so I’ve got to be ready for that. I’ve just got to beat him up; use my defensive wrestling and use my striking in the way I want to and wear him out.”

With Joy’s veteran status and experience against UFC caliber opponents, Erosa feels this is the type of fight he needs to get noticed and move his way up the featherweight ranks in 2014.

“Having (Joy’s) name on my resume is definitely going to help me,” said Erosa. “I can beat whoever I want to beat, but if they don’t have a name, it’s really not going to help me out. I want to have a good record, but I need someone who has a name so big organizations can start looking at me.”