18-fight UFC veteran is retiring after his next bout so he can help out his mother’s business

UFC Vegas 123 will be the final appearance inside the Octagon for Julian Erosa.

The featherweight veteran has competed 44 times as a professional in MMA, with 18 of those bouts coming under the UFC banner.

‘Juicy J’ became a fan favorite thanks to his entertaining style and penchant for wild scraps, which have helped him collect three UFC bonuses, two for Fight of the Night and one for Performance of the Night.

Erosa is set to return at the end of October in pursuit of snapping his two-fight losing skid. If he succeeds, it will be the 37-year-old’s final act in the sport.

Erosa had a lengthy career away from the Octagon, during which he lost to UFC star Paddy Pimblett in a title fight in Cage Warriors.

He was a semifinalist on The Ultimate Fighter in 2015 and has since had three separate stints in MMA’s leading organization.

After going 1-1 in his first, Erosa lost three straight fights in the UFC, having earned another contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.

Following his second release, it took Erosa just one regional fight to return to the Octagon, where he has stayed ever since. His ongoing UFC run has included a knockout win over Nate Landwehr and a submission against Charles Jourdain.

Erosa rarely fails to entertain, and he hopes that will remain true when he enters the cage for the final time against Jeong Yeong Lee at UFC Vegas 123 on October 31.

“I’ve not made it a big deal, but this will be my last fight,” Erosa said during a recent interview with Fanatics View.

“My wife moved back (to Washington) a little over a year ago. She was trying to run (my mother’s) stand, but we realized that if I’m here (in Las Vegas) and she’s there, at the time we had a one-year-old kid, that’s not sustainable.

“I put my foot down and just said, ‘Hey, move back here to Vegas, I’m gonna fight until I’m done fighting, and then we’ll move back.’ It was just too hard on both of us,” he added.

“After my last fight, I just wanted to give myself one more opportunity to try to get my hand raised. I wanted to make it a date of when I was going to be done.

“Win, lose, or draw, it’s going to be something that I want to do again. So I have to make the conscious decision beforehand that this is going to be my last fight.”

The final event of October is set to be headlined by former lightweight title challenger Renato Moicano’s return against Tom Nolan.

It remains to be seen whether Erosa will receive a farewell video package from the UFC after his 19th and final outing in the promotion.