Julian Erosa confirms UFC Vegas 123 fight against Lee will be his last, win or lose

Julian Erosa has confirmed that his featherweight bout against Jeong Yeong Lee at UFC Vegas 123 on 31 October in Las Vegas will be the final fight of his career. The 37-year-old told Fanatics View the decision is unconditional — the result on the night will not change it.

Erosa said he deliberately set a firm retirement date because he knew his own competitive instincts would otherwise keep him going. A win, he reasoned, would tempt him to chase one more fight; a loss would leave him hunting redemption. By committing publicly, he removes the choice entirely.

“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.”

Erosa enters the bout on a two-fight losing streak, most recently suffering a stoppage defeat to Lerryan Douglas in March. Known as “Juicy J,” he is determined to close his career with a victory.

Beyond the competitive calculus, Erosa pointed to fatherhood as the deeper reason for stepping away. He said becoming a father has reshuffled his priorities, and he plans to relocate 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,” he said. “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 first appeared in the UFC in 2015 after competing on The Ultimate Fighter. He earned a second stint in the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, but was released following three straight losses. He returned to the Octagon in 2020 after a regional win and has fought 13 more times since, compiling a promotional record of 9-9. The Halloween-night bout against Lee will be his 19th appearance inside the Octagon.