Julian Erosa was happy to retire on a UFC snoozer until he got hit

LAS VEGAS – Julian Erosa met the media Saturday after his win over JeongYeong Lee at UFC Fight Night 292.Erosa (32-13 MMA, 10-9 UFC), who was fighting in his retirement bout on the prelims at the Meta APEX, pulled off an insane rally against Lee (11-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC). Erosa was dropped quickly by Lee and had to survive an early barrage. But he did, and “Juicy J” threw a right hand that was on the money and put Lee on the canvas. He put him away a few punches later for the fairy tale ending. Erosa highlights, UFC Fight Night 292⚠️ PELIGRO AHÍ⚠️Arrancando el round y vean lo que pasó 🛑#UFCVegas123 | Estamos en vivo por @PPlusDeportespic.twitter.com/Jar2WTOnxf— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) October 31, 2026FINAL DE PELÍCULA 💢Erosa casi pierde la pelea al inicio del round y poco después termina noqueando 🧨#UFCVegas123 | Estamos en vivo por @PPlusDeportespic.twitter.com/i4tem7epew— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) October 31, 2026DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACKThe crowd erupts after Julian Erosa's RD1 KNOCKOUT![ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/hhDMxtEXry— UFC (@ufc) October 31, 2026Erosa key quotes, UFC Fight Night 292“It's something that's not going to sink in until probably the next few days. If I started thinking about it, it's going to start making me well up and stuff. I was just really locked in for this fight. Walking out, I felt a little bit easier. I don't know if it was just not having the stresses and the anxieties of if my if I'm going to lose and have my job back or what's going to happen – there was no stress of that. I just went out there and had nothing to lose – and I almost lost it.”“We kind of wanted to get him to the ground. I wanted to grapple and I would have won a boring fight. I would have been happy with that. But when the door closes and you get hit a couple times, it kind of makes you want to just scrap. For me and my character, it just worked out perfectly. But it could have easily gone the other way, so I'm thankful that I was able to land the shot that we've been working on the entire camp. It just shows that preparation will make it work.”“I was going back and forth in my mind: If I win the fight, I'm going to want to do it again because it's the best feeling in the world. If I lose the fight, I'm going to want redemption. Win, lose or draw, I'm going to want to come back in here. So before I even got the fight, I told my wife, ‘This is going to be the last one,’ and be content with that decision. Once I was at ease with it and at peace with that decision, I could just go in the fight and just focus on it being a fight just like any other fight camp – focus on that and then be, I'm already happy with the decision of retiring. I didn't want to be the guy that's going to retire and then come back in a month. I'm happy with the way it turned out. I haven't left any stone unturned. I made it from ‘Ultimate Fighter’ to Contender Series, been cut and rehired by the UFC so many times – I want to go out on my own terms.”Erosa post-fight interview, UFC Fight Night 292See the video above.This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Julian Erosa was happy to retire on a UFC snoozer until he got hit