On October 31, the UFC returns to the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the first of back-to-back Meta Apex events, Julian Erosa returns to the Octagon. The American fighter takes on JeongYeong Lee in the featherweight division.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com. Both Erosa and Lee are in desperate need of a win after losing their most recent two fights.
Juicy J’s Third Run
It doesn’t happen often that the UFC signs a fighter for a second time. It is even rarer when they get signed for a third stint. Erosa is one of those fighters who signed on three separate occasions with the UFC. In 2015, Erosa participated in the 22nd season of The Ultimate Fighter. He lost in the semi-finals but won his first official UFC fight during a prelim on the finale event. After losing to Teruto Ishihara, he got cut from the UFC. Erosa worked himself back up in the regional scene and got an invite to fight in 2018 on the Contender Series. Erosa beat Jamall Emmers by a spectacular knockout but didn’t receive a new deal with the UFC. Five months later, the UFC got back at Erosa and gave him a new deal.
Erosa had a horrible second run in the UFC with three losses. After his loss to Julio Arce in 2019, he got cut for the second time. But after picking up another win in the regional scene, the fighter from Yakima, Washington, got a third chance. Erosa jumped on that opportunity and beat Sean Woodson via D’Arce choke in the third round. That win was followed by a spectacular knockout win over Nate Landwehr. Erosa wasn’t able to beat SeungWoo Choi, but after that loss, the American fighter had his best run in the UFC with six wins in eight fights. Erosa had established himself as a mainstay in the featherweight division. Unfortunately for Erosa, he lost his last two fights. He now needs a win against JeongYeong Lee to not lose three in a row for the first time since 2019.
In Desperate Need Of A Win
JeongYeong Lee is a 30-year-old fighter out of South Korea. The former Road FC champion got into the UFC through the Road to UFC tournament. Lee made a massive impact in the tournament by finishing Xie Bin and Kai Lu both within a minute in his quarter-final and semi-final in the tournament. It led to the finale against Yizha in February 2023. In a close fight, Lee won via split decision, earning a contract with the UFC. Almost exactly a year later, Lee made his long-awaited debut in the UFC against Blake Bilder.
Lee won via a dominant unanimous decision, earning his first official win as a UFC fighter. It was his last win in the UFC. Lee lost his last two fights against Hyder Amil and Daniel Santos. Lee was supposed to fight earlier this year against Gaston Bolaños, but had trouble making weight, and the fight got scrapped. Now he is back and in desperate need of a victory against Julian Erosa.
UFC Vegas 123 – Las Vegas (October 31)
- Julian Erosa vs. JeongYeong Lee
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