Julian Erosa wants to be the first person to finish Steven Peterson in the UFC: “I don’t want to risk half my paycheck on three judges”

By Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022

Julian Erosa called out Steven Peterson and is glad he’s getting the fight.

Julian Erosa

Erosa will face Peterson at UFC Vegas 47 in a very fun featherweight scrap. For Erosa, he says he called out Peterson to get a fight, but after the Fortis MMA product didn’t respond, he got mad and wanted to fight him even more.

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“Peterson had called out Landwehr but Landwehr was booked so I figured it would be a good opportunity to reach out to him to see if he would be willing to take the fight. I did it in a respectful fight and he ignored me,” Erosa said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I tried baiting him on a few times and then I got the Jourdain fight and after it, I said Peterson’s name a few more times. Honestly, I was madder he didn’t answer, like if he didn’t want to fight me, no worries, I’m not a guy who will talk s**t about that. The fact he ignored me was annoying so I called him out even more and then my manager called me to say we got the Peterson fight.”

Against Peterson, Erosa believes he is a bad matchup for the Texan as he believes he’s just a better version of him.

“I think I match up really well because I think Peterson thinks his strengths are his durability and his pace and cardio,” Erosa said. “But, those are my strengths as well and I think I am better in certain aspects of fighting. We are going to see who has the better cardio.”

Even though Julain Erosa believes he’s better than Steven Peterson, he does think it will be hard to finish “Ocho” at UFC Vegas 47. Peterson has only ever been finished once in his career and never in the UFC, but that is Erosa’s goal come Saturday night.

“I’m always pushing for the finish, I never think about winning rounds,” Erosa explained. “From when the first bell rings to when the fight is over I think about the finish as you see so many bad decisions that I don’t want to risk half my paycheck on three judges. But, I do think Peterson is a guy that can be finished and if I don’t finish I will be able to dominate him enough to win a decision.”

If Erosa gets his hand raised, he isn’t sure what the win does for him, as he actually believes this is a step-down in competition. He also wants to be as active as possible in 2022 and end the year near the top-15.

“Peterson is a guy who I should’ve gotten earlier on, but a win over him clarifies that I belong in the UFC. Guys I already beat are better or higher-ranked than Peterson like Jourdain, it just solidifies that I belong in the UFC,” Erosa concluded.

Do you think Julian Erosa will finish Steven Peterson at UFC Vegas 47?


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