Back on Track, CageSport Featherweight Julian Erosa Wants to Face the UFC Challenge

Following the first loss of his career in December, Washington 145-pound prospect Julian Erosa was looking to rebound recently at CageSport 24. Not so much because of the loss, but to not lose to a fighter he had beaten previously.

“After losing to Drew (Brokenshire), it didn’t deter me or break me down too much,” said Erosa. “There were things I could have done and should have done in that fight to win it, but I wasn’t able to do it, and Drew just had a good game plan against me.

“So it was important to come back and get a win, but it really has nothing to do with the Drew fight. It has more to do with having beaten Jason Gybels once before and it would have been more of a heartbreak if he would have beaten me after I had won the first one.”

Luckily for Erosa, he managed to submit Gybels in the second round and raise his record to 10-1 and get back on track.

“I fought Jason once before and got the knockout the first time around, so I knew my hands were probably going to be better than his and I thought for sure he was going to go for the takedown, which he did in the first fight. So I wasn’t really surprised by his effort to take me down,” said Erosa.

“I’m (good at scrambling) on the ground and hard to sub, so I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about him winning the rounds just on positioning and bullying me around.”

Following a slow start, Erosa managed to step things up in the second and catch Gybels with a triangle choke.

With the win, Erosa told MMAWeekly.com that next he’s looking to avenge his loss from last year.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to rematch in July, so I’m really stoked about that,” he said. “I know all the stuff I need to do to beat him and work on in camp and perform on that day.

“If I’d lost again, who knows what would have happened? Maybe I’d have to fight a couple more dudes before I’d fight (Brokenshire) again, but (beating Gybels) definitely puts me in line to fight him again and hopefully get the win over him.”

Rematch aside, Erosa’s goal for the remainder of the year is to expand both his game and his exposure in the featherweight division.

“The whole goal for this year is getting out there, training with other camps and just seeing where I fall with higher level guys,” he said. “I come from Yakama, which maybe isn’t the biggest town – and we have a great team here – but it’s always nice to see where you fall with other top pros.

“I really want to try to explore my options and see where I fall in line with UFC guys and see how I do against them and see if I can keep up in the UFC at 145 pounds. I’m just really looking forward to pushing myself this year and maintaining my record and getting into any shows that is going to further my career.”