Julian Erosa will likely be looking at an extra six-figures in his bank account after earning a split decision over Steven Peterson in a bloody back-and-forth war at UFC Vegas 47.
After calling for this fight and going as far as sending his opponent direct messages on social media, Erosa delivered with a non-stop action fight over three rounds with Peterson willing to trade him punch for punch until the final horn sounded. While it was a razor close call, Erosa ultimately earned the victory with two judges giving him 29-28 scores with the third judge handing the same 29-28 score to Peterson.
Because Peterson missed weight on Friday, he’s not eligible for any bonuses, which means Erosa would bank an entire $100,000 if they earn Fight of the Night honors.
After securing his second consecutive win, Erosa stated that it was “a close fight”. We were banging very hard. I knew it was going to be a fight like this. Luckily it worked out for me.”
THIS FIGHT #UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/3FlcmhgUPx
— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2022
As one of the biggest favorites on the entire card, Erosa was full of confidence as he marched forward and attempted to just walk Peterson down while throwing combinations in succession. Peterson fired back with a series of leg kicks as he attempted to back Erosa off while constantly circling away at the edge of the cage.
Erosa and Peterson began to throw caution to the wind just before the end of the first round. That strategy backfired on Peterson as Erosa was connecting with better accuracy and power until the horn sounded.
Peterson looked to turn the tables moving into the second round as he got a little more aggressive and he uncorked a couple of stiff right hands that came over the top to tag Erosa. Peterson continued his assault on Erosa, cracking him with more of the same vicious rights. It looked as if he would score a win.
Despite being wobbled, Erosa refused to back down as he just started launching punches, which led to Peterson then looking for a takedown. Erosa shook him off and unleashed a spin back fist, dropping Peterson to the ground for a while before getting up again.
Following a back-and-forth war through 10 minutes, Peterson’s coach impressed upon him to stay technical rather than brawling with Erosa in the exchanges. Peterson listened as he kept throwing the same straight left followed by an overhand right that kept catching Erosa off guard.
While he was absorbing a lot of damage, Erosa was still coming after Peterson with everything in his arsenal as the fighters were just dropping bombs on each other with neither man backing down. Erosa even mixed in a late takedown, which may have been the difference to help him secure the third round on the scorecards.
Recognized as one of the most exciting fighters on the entire roster, Erosa lived up to that billing with his latest performance and he certainly earned whatever bonus might be paid to him once UFC Vegas 47 is finished.
