Up On Game Presents BURN FACTORY Podcast With UFC Athlete Julian Erosa "Perseverance & Dedication"

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Burn Factory Podcast with Priest and Phoenix Rivera.
Listen as the voice interview the biggest names in sports
and entertainment. The Burn Factory starts.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Now, what's up? Guys?

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Welcome back to another episode of the Burn Factory Podcast.
I'm your host Produce, joined by my co host, my brother,
the one and only Phoenix, say what's up to the cameras,
what's up, y'all? This is called the Burn Factor for
a reason. I was literally caught on fire, fifty percent
chances to survive, but through that started this podcast because
I believe every single person out there on this planet

(00:36):
goes through a burn moment somewhere in their life.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
You heard pre say a burn moment.

Speaker 4 (00:40):
So a burn moment is a really hard time in
your life that you just have to fight and to
get through to ultimately get you where you are today.
And me, Priest, believe that every single person on this
earth go through burn moments that truly build them to
who they are. But what an amazing guest we have today.
Our guest has shown the pinnacle of never losing hope.
He was a Cage Sport featherweight and lightweight champion. He

(01:04):
was also the Prime Fighting Featherweight Champion and is now
fighting and the UFC Featherweight division.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
So please give a warm welcome to julian A Rosa.
Of course I hear you're an avid snowboarder and skateboarder.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh for sure. I mean that's kind of what got
me into just sports in general. I you know, I
started skateboarding at a young age, snowboarding as well, and
I feel like fighting kind of fell into that in
the sense of I wasn't much of a team sport player.
I was kind of a soloist, and so skateboarding, snowboarding,
even fighting, you know, we have a team, but when
you go in there, it's all it's all you.

Speaker 5 (01:44):
What age did you start learning?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
I started skateboarding when I was like, I would say,
about ten or eleven, and then I transitioned into snowboarding
a couple of years after that.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Okay, we just went snowboarding women up to Breckenridge, Colorado.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh that's beautiful. Yeah, I've been there before. My one
of my old friends was an electrician up there, got
us up there for about a week. The town's amazing.
I mean, I know that's where they shot a lot
of dumb and dumber as well.

Speaker 5 (02:09):
So really I didn't even know that.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah, so they actually did a lot of it in Breckenridge.
But it's a beautiful little town, a little Christmas town.
It's funny.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
We like, we were born in Colorado and we never
went snowboarding like ever. And then now seven years ago
we moved to California and now we've been snowboarding more
since living in California.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, you think if living in California you go surfing
a lot, but yeah, don't go surfing at all. And
then we went to breckon Ridge. How Phoenix said, oh
my gosh, there's the funniest story. So we went up there,
started learning the first day, got the hang of it,
you know, and Phoenix kind of got a little too
cocky on the second day and he pulled out the
vog camera.

Speaker 5 (02:48):
He's like, look at me, go completely catch us. His
front edge does a.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
Front flip and just boom off the like ice, and
his glove goes sliding across and the snowboll snowmobile girl
like lifeguard or whatever she is, the scheme mountain person
comes up and she's like, oh my gosh, are you okay?
You okay, pox is like, yeah, I think so it was.

Speaker 5 (03:12):
It was bad.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
It was a bad spill. Yeah, it can be Uh,
it can be a bit rough. I've been very lucky
in my skateboarding, snowboarding and fighting career that I've I
haven't really gotten any injuries, you know, I mean superficial
stuff like uh cuts. I've had stitches and stuff before,
but never broken anything, never torn anything. So I've been
very lucky in that sense, and not only with fighting,
because fighting is you know, uh, we protect each other

(03:34):
as teammates and stuff. But uh, when you're you know,
the ground is unforgiving, like you know, I mean, yeah,
it is hard. You can bust yourself on the ice.
But also with skateboarding. That's why I kind of stop
skateboarding as much because the concrete is unforgiving, and you know,
my career is based on my physical ability, So I
would hate to go skateboard and break my arm or
break my leg and I'd be able to fight for

(03:55):
a year because of it. So yeah, it's a it
can be unforgiving sometimes when don't you kind of stop
skateboarding and snowboarding, Uh, I mean I snowboard more than
I skateboard only because the snow is a bit softer
than concrete. But uh, I would say, you know, skateboarding,
I stopped doing as much as I used to do
it probably about five or six years ago when I

(04:15):
moved to Las Vegas. Plus in Vegas, it's so hot
here that it's like you can only skateboard in the
summertime for twenty thirty minutes before you're basically dehydrated.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
So yeah, stepping off the plane. So we just came
from Wyoming and coming here. We land at like nine pm,
and I was like, oh my god, it was still
like one hundred degrees outside.

Speaker 5 (04:34):
I could not live here, I don't think. So it's
way too hot.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, that's like. And that's also I mean one of
the tough things about it too, is it's it's super
dry heat, so like it pulls the fluid out of you,
especially if you're training every day and you don't realize
it as well, like that you're getting dehydrated as dehydrated
as you are, and so you definitely gotta be careful
and make sure you're drinking a lot of water because
it's so dry here.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
I feel like being a fighter here is actually kind
of good because it's so hot, like say you're cutting
for say you're fighting here in July, you can just
go outside in the suit and run them ole and
be losing thirteen pounds already.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
I feel like the biggest advantage of being a fighter
in Las Vegas is the majority of the fights are here,
whether you're talking about the Apex, the T Mobile Arena,
or anywhere here in Las Vegas. Is because you know,
if you're training here, then it's always good to fight
in the same atmosphere that you're training because people that
come to Vegas and they you know, I trained with
a lot of guys that come in here and they're

(05:26):
like have a hard time catching their wind because they're
not used to the dry heat. And so when you're
used to it and you can kind of push through it,
then when you fight in Vegas, it helps out a lot.
It kind of gives you a little bit of an advantage,
almost like if you fight in Colorado, where it's like
the Mile High City, and so there's different advantages and
disadvantage to fighting and training in Las Vegas.

Speaker 5 (05:46):
Is this hard for you to adjust, like when you
go to somewhere else.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Not necessarily when I did move to Vegas. The first week,
week and a half. It was some adjustion. There was
an adjustment period, and I definitely felt that. But since
I've lived here, you know for six years, I'm already
accustomed to it and acclimated to it. So it's actually
my advantage now. So every time I try to fight,
I want to fight the Apex or the team Obi
Arena because you know, I've been here for six years.

Speaker 4 (06:11):
Where are you living before you move here? Washington State, Washington,
and so you were born there, right, Yeah?

Speaker 2 (06:17):
I was born in Seattle and then lived the majority
of my life in Yakima, which is kind of a
small town east east Washington.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
Are you see o fann Oh yeah, yeah, Okay, So
we're the command Commander.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
Sad Team to be a fan for, you know, that's
that's where you really find the true fans is through
the downs. You know, if your team's doing well, you know,
it's easy to be a fan of those guys and
it's easy to jump on the bandwagons. But where team's
not doing so well, then you know, that really goes
to show who's a real fan.

Speaker 4 (06:48):
Exactly exactly, So Julian on this podcast, we do use
the acronym burn. So each letter is kind of a
different time in your life. So starting with B B
stands for beginning, take us back to your childhood, where
there's some moments that you had to fight and overcome
to get you to where you are today.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, you know, for me, I was pretty lucky that
I had a pretty pretty good childhood. You know. My
parents were you know, they both owned businesses, and you know,
they kind of, you know, supplied me with whatever whatever
I wanted. Not necessarily with whatever I wanted, but they
were very supportive of things I wanted to do. Like
they never really pushed me into doing like football at

(07:25):
school or school activities. They were cool with me skateboarding
because they understood that it was something that I enjoyed doing,
and so they gave me a lot of a lot
of that, a lot of motivation and a lot of
helped me I kind of grow through my passions. And
but one thing that was you know, kind of early on.
I'm thirty three now, So when I was about nineteen,

(07:47):
my dad ended up having brain cancer. So getting diagnosed
diagnosed with brain cancer, and then it was kind of
a weird situation because like it's not like my dad
got in a car wreck and died. He had a
brain cancer, and we had about a year year and
a half of you know, surgeries he had to do,
and so it was almost like a like a delayed death,
you know, like I had to see him kind of

(08:07):
go through these things. And then he had three brain
surgeries and ended up passing away a year and a
half in and my mom tried hiding most of that
from us. It was tough though, you know, I was
an adult, so like it's hard for me not to
or hard for her to hide it from us. And
so that was kind of the weird situation. If my
dad would have you know, gotten a car wreck and
he would have died, it would have been tragic, and

(08:29):
but it just felt different because he had brain cancer
and it was like an elongated period of time, which
was just such a weird situation. But uh, you know,
going through that really helped me understand that, like there's
nothing in life that can be that as hard as
that really, I mean not necessarily for me, but like
my mom and my dad having to go through that
on there end, Like if I go fight and I lose,

(08:51):
I'm still gonna you know, I still have my life.
I still people who love me, and it's just a fight,
you know. So it really put that kind of stuff
in perspective for me. But I would that was probably
the biggest, uh, one of the biggest tough moments of
my life growing up.

Speaker 4 (09:05):
So how did you kind of get through that? Was
there something that you you went to to help like
bring peace to your mind?

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (09:11):
For sure.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
I mean I think we all have these outlets, right skateboarding, snowboarding.
I was very avid skateboarding snowboarder back then, so I
just you know, preoccupied myself with doing that and I
was also training, so like just kind of keeping myself busy,
and my mom kind of pushed us to do that
as well, like instead of staying at home and seeing
my dad, you know, because my mom was kind of
his caretaker for a little bit of time, so he

(09:33):
was at home and so we would see these things,
and so she tried helping, you know, she tried helping
the situation by making us be as preoccupied as possible.
And I knew what she was doing, and uh, and
so like, you know, you definitely are going to hold
some of these feelings in but uh and try to
distract yourself a little bit. But uh, I think it
was you know, it was good on her to, uh

(09:54):
to push us to kind of preoccupy us during that time.

Speaker 5 (09:57):
How old were you whenever?

Speaker 2 (09:59):
I was, like, I was nineteen when my dad was
diagnosed and he passed away right before I turned twenty one.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
Oh, I'm sorry for you.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Oh you know, it's it's live man. People get cancer
and there's no like rhyme or reason. You know, he
had brain cancer, and they say it's one of those
things that just it's not like genetic or anything. It
just happens to certain people. And my dad was you know,
relatively healthy, you know, and such a good dude too,
So like that was really the big part. Like like, uh,
like I don't know if it's worse if you don't

(10:28):
know your dad and he passes away, or if you
know your dad and he's a good guy and then
he passes away. Because my dad was a really good
dude and ended up getting brain cancer. And we always
you know, kind of harped my mom because she smoked cigarettes,
and we're like, well, do you want to be around
when you're you know, when I have grandkids, you know,
when you have grandkids, and you know, if you smoke cigarettes,
you might get cancer and this and that. You know,

(10:49):
you know, years down the line, my dad gets cancer.
And he was he didn't really smoke, he didn't really drink,
you know, just was an average typical American and he
just you know, went to work and it came home
and he was a good dude and just goes to
show like some of the best things or some of
the best people can have horrible things happened to him
and vice versa.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah, it's cancer is one of the worst things. Like
our grandmother, she passed away of pancreatic cancer. And it's
just like comes out of nowhere. You're almost blindsided about it.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
Well even you know his situation, you know, pre situation,
you know, catching on fire. Like I know a kid
who is in a car and the guy was driving
pretty radically. They get in a car accident and he
his name is Martin, and he trains at an extreme
co tour and also at a to the planet and
he's burned, like ninety percent of his body's burned too. Yeah,

(11:34):
he's like he's bad and uh, you know, he's missing
about this much of his hand and he he has
to wear a patch over his eye because it's his eyes.
It's pretty messed up, or one of his eyes kind
of messed up. And yeah, it's just like those types
of things can happen to the best of the best
of us, you know.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
Yeah, this is actually leading us right into you and
burn unfortunate, Like how he said some of the most
happiest people and so like loving can just get the
worst side possible.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
Like myself, I.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
Was just a normal kid and yeah, went to school
one day, teacher says she's gonna do a science experiment.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
Next thing.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
No, I was in the hospital for a week having
seven surgeries, frighting for my life.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, it's insane, you know. And even this uh S
girl Maria trains that extreme. We just found out she
has cancer and you know she's going through the treatment
for that too. You know. It's like and obviously, like
you know, you don't necessarily know everybody's you know, backstory,
but I know a lot of bad people that live
really in long lives, you know, and even in jail,
in prison, like you watch some of those shows, if

(12:37):
like people that were serial killers that live to be
old and in prison, like like what do they do
to deserve a long life, you know, or like you
know some people that get away with certain things and
it just makes you kind of question things sometimes.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
For sure, and the most unfortunate burn moments can be
some of the best burn moments possible. Like if that
doesn't happen to me, I don't have this podcast, And
I'm sure if you're dad doesn't pass away, I'm sure
you're totally different than today, and.

Speaker 2 (13:07):
No one will know, right, Like you don't know, like
you know, the trials and tribulations is what kind of
form us as who we are today? So you don't,
I mean, who knows. Maybe if I didn't drink that
a couple of coffee seven years ago, what if am
I doing the same thing I'm doing now? Could be
something as small as that, or could be something big, right,
So yeah, it could be a combination of different things
and a lot of variables.

Speaker 4 (13:24):
Yeah, I would say being a bystander to all that
stuff is really tough. Like for me, I remember getting
the call from my dad that he had been burned,
and I was first week of summer.

Speaker 5 (13:34):
I was so happy, like out of school.

Speaker 4 (13:36):
When I was golfing with my buddies on a golf
course and I get the call. My dad's like, hey,
your brother's been burned, Like we're going to the hospital
right now.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
And I was like, oh, maybe he was messing.

Speaker 4 (13:46):
With a hot glue gun and burnt his finger or
something to that. And he's like no, like they might
fight for life right now. Like it was that serious
and I'll never forget, like didn't even say anything. I
hung up on the phone. I turned to the woods
and I took my golf club and I hit the
ball so hard and ironically it was like the best
shot of the entire day. But it was kind of

(14:07):
back to that. It's like why man, Like he was
twelve years old, Like that's my brother. Yeah, Like there's
a different type of love and connection that we have.
And then you start thinking like, well, why couldn't have
been me? Like I was older at the time. Why
couldn't have been me? And So for you, I know
you you hinted on like your dad passing away, but
were there any other unfortunate times in your life that
you had to go through.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
You know, honestly, I gotta say it was you know,
I was pretty lucky in the grand scheme of it all,
and I'm you know, I'm pretty easy going and like,
you know, I'm pretty optimistic, you know, and even when
my dad was sick, you know, it was like one
of those things that I just I kind of just
informed myself that this is life. These are things that
happen in life, and he can make the best of it,
or you can make the worst of it. And you know,

(14:50):
a good example of that as well as my brother
who was an alcoholic and he was cleaning sob why
this while this was happening to my dad, And he
could have gone two ways. You know, he could have
went down the down the rabbit hole and you know,
been drinking and you know, maybe became a drug addict
or you know, whatever the situation is. Or he could
have turned his life into a positive situation and that's

(15:12):
what he's done, so you know, and it's same with me.
You know, I wasn't an alcoholic, but I could have
done the same thing. I could have you know, went
down the rabbit hole of doing bad things and just
you know, kind of give given up on life. Because
you know, when you see something like that happen, you
start to question life and you know the intentions behind it,
and like what's happening to you and all this stuff
that's going on, and so like you can take it

(15:32):
and you can go negative with it or you can
stay positive about it. I think I think the attitude
can change, you know, it can really change a lot
of people's minds and just it can move mountains. You know.
So you're fighting at the time of this year, like
nineteen years old. How did that?

Speaker 5 (15:45):
How did losing your dad kind of affect your fighting?

Speaker 2 (15:47):
Do you know? Well, me, me and him started watching
the WC because it was free at the time. I'm
going way back. I'm sixteen fifteen, sixteen years ago, back
when the UFC had one pay per view every like
six months or something. We usual to watch the WC
because it was free, and uh, we weren't huge fans
of it at the time, but we kind of got

(16:09):
into it together watching it and he's like, well, hey,
you're kind of built like that Donald Serroney guy. Maybe
you should try some of this stuff. And I was like, well,
maybe I will, and uh, and actually I had about
I think it was five amateur fights with my dad
got sick, or actually even before he got sick. Uh,
it was probably only like two amateur fights I had
when he got sick, but right when he passed, I

(16:30):
actually had a fight scheduled literally the weekend afterwards he
I think he passed away. I can't remember exactly what
day it was, but I think it was on like
a Sunday, Saturday or Sunday. And the next weekend I
had a fight and my coach asked me if I
wanted to pull out of it, like, you know, obviously,
like some people would just want to pull out, but
I was like, you know, let's just let's just fight

(16:51):
and uh end up winning that fight, and but it
was one of those things that it gave me even
more of a hunger and a push to go win
that fight because he's the one who introduced me to
fighting and so well that necessarily introduced me. But we
watched it together and we kind of bonded over that,
so I didn't want to, you know, there was uh
it's kind of the attitude, right, like I could just

(17:12):
like kind of, you know, feel sorry for myself, you know,
feel sorry for my family and uh and and not
chase those things down. But I feel like if you
can use those things for motivation, it's better than using
it as something negative. I agree.

Speaker 4 (17:24):
I agree, that's kind of like what we were talking about before.
Like some fighters do pull out of fights with little things,
but the fact that you like stood in there and
went through like one of the most tragic things in
your entire life is amazing to see.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
So well, I also feel like, you know, it's a
little bit of that preoccupying myself, you know, like you know,
a way to get some aggression out. Yeah, And it's
so funny because my mom used to harp on me
for getting into fights. Before I started fighting, I'd gotten
into some you know, just some scuffles in the skate
park and you know, just small town stuff and uh,
and then she used to harp on me and get

(17:56):
me in trouble for doing that kind of stuff. And
now that I find people, she's like rooting for me
to beat somebody up. So it's funny on that table
kind of turns, you know. But yeah, she was you know,
she was there, you know, watching me fight that night,
and so I think I gave her some It was
kind of a way to preoccupy not only myself, with
my whole family.

Speaker 5 (18:12):
What made you want to get into professional fighting.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
Well, I I've been fighting as an amateur for about
a year and a half, had ten amateur fights and
was doing pretty well. And like the coach at the time,
Rich Aaron, he was promoting and matchmaking for the Emerald
Queen Show, a CA sport, and he's like, well there's
some He's like, there's a handful of professional guys I
know you could beat, like at the professional level. He's like,

(18:36):
do you want to fight professionally? And I was like
by He's like, you'll get paid, and I'm like I'm
getting I'm doing it for free now, actually paying money
for tickets for my family come watching me fight. So
I was like, Yeah, let's do it. And then, you know,
it kind of just snowballed. You know, it was a
hobby and it still is a hobby. And I feel
like you can't straight from that because once you started
doing it for the wrong reasons, then it can you know,

(18:58):
be more of a chore than it is a hobby.
And that's why I got into fighting as as I
love to fight, and if I stopped loving to fight,
I don't think I'm gonna want to do it anymore.

Speaker 5 (19:07):
Agreed. Agreed.

Speaker 4 (19:08):
So then you turn professional and then you go onto
the Ultimate Fighter show, so kind of talk about what
that being on that show was and what it did
for your career.

Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, you know, I was, Uh, I was fourteen and
two going to The Ultimate Fighter and uh it was
Connor and your Rya Favor and so it was just
like I was so young, naive and just kind of
ignorant to it all. And that's kind of what helped
me through that whole experience because I was just you know, uh,

(19:37):
I was just having a good time and I didn't
know anything about the competitors. I was fighting a k
a kid named Meddi Baghdad from the European side, and
I remember all the guys, all the coaches, like Uri
Favor all those other coaches were like, you gotta watch out.
This guy's got good striking. Let's look to take him
down because he was a world champion kickboxer and so

(19:59):
but like me, just being naive about the whole situation,
I was like, I don't care, Like we're here to fight.
I'm gonna fight with him. Yeah, I'm down to fight
on the feet. But they were like pretty adamant about
taking them down because that's his strong suit was on
the feet. And so but I ended up going in
there and fighting him for two rounds and I ended
up getting in the win in a completely one hundred
percent stand up fight against a world champion kickboxer. So uh,

(20:22):
it was one of those things that just being young
and naive kind of helped me. Like I just didn't like,
I didn't really take anybody. I didn't take anything really
all that serious. You know. It was one of I
was just doing it for fun. You know. It was
one of those things that I just really enjoyed doing
and didn't necessarily care about, you know, the risks or
the rewards about it. I just wanted to do it

(20:42):
and have a fun time doing it. And so uh.
But I fought a lot of tough guys on the
Lsman Fighter and just was naive to the fact of
their skill sets and just had just had fun doing
my thing. And I did really well in the show.
I was three and one, And you know, it was
a bit unlucky in the sense that Connor's like best
friend an Artemn Lobof lost to Meddi Bagdad to get

(21:03):
into the house. This is back in the days when
you had to win the win the house. Yeah, so
it was it was a bit tougher back then, and
so I fought uh I fought Jason Sorez, who was
actually undefeated black belt to get in the house, and
then Meddi Bagdad fought Artem lost but he was Connor's
right hand man, so they finaggled his way into the

(21:26):
back into the house after losing the fight, and then
I beat uh Meddi Bagdad and then Abner Lovas, and
then then I had to fight Artam and got knocked
out by Artam, and it just felt a little unfair
to me because if he didn't get put back into
the competition, I probably would have fought for the title
of the Tough twenty two Champions. So and they actually

(21:47):
end up bringing Ryan Hall back because uh I had
just fought Artam on the very last fight, and then
Saw Rogers, who was supposed to fly Ardham, had some
visa issues, and so they brought back an American. So
Ryan Hall ended up winning the show with the same
record in the house that I had. We were both
three and one in the house, and so it was
just like, like it just felt a little unfair in

(22:07):
the sense of like Connor being able to like finagle
his best friend back into the house. After he lost,
you know, but it's one of those things. I was
kind of naive to it at the at the moment,
and then after, you know, coming back home, I kind
of seen it. I was like, well, I guess that
makes sense. And I'm not trying to take away from Ardam.
I mean, he beat me fair and square. And if
you know, if I was best friends with Connor MacGregor

(22:28):
or a guy like him, I'd probably write his coattails
as well, you know a little.

Speaker 5 (22:32):
You know, those are some unfortunate burn moments.

Speaker 3 (22:34):
But going back to The Ultimate Fighter, how does this
like the fighting work? Do you actually fight like once
a once a week or do you fight like twice
a week or how does it like work?

Speaker 2 (22:44):
Yeah, So, like that season was a bit different too,
because a lot of seasons they have two weight classes,
but for that season, they decided that there wasn't enough
talent at one seventeen, so they were just gonna do
a whole house of one fifty five vers and so
instead of winning three fights to win the whole show,
you end up having to win four fights or actually

(23:05):
even five fights. I think it was just because we
also had to fight to get in the house. So
it was just like a pretty crazy situation. Yeah, we
were there for seven weeks. I fought four times in
seven weeks. And that's why a lot of people do
the Ultimate Fighter up aweight classes. So I did the
Ultimate Fighter at one fifty five. But I'm a featherweight
because there's just like it would be very hard to
make waight four times because I usually have like six

(23:29):
or seven weeks to make wait once and have a fight.
And in the house, I fought four times in seven weeks.
So it was a bit and also not only the
whole weight cut thing. It's just like you know, getting
banged up and bruised up, you know. Basically, the Ultimate
Fighter was more of a trying to keep a healthy
kind of situation. You go out and fight and then
see what's going on, you know, you kind of busted
up here or there, and then kind of adjust your

(23:50):
training schedule for that. It really we weren't really training
super hard because especially if you were still in the competition,
it was like you were trying to keep tool sharp
and go and fight, stay healthy, keep too sharp, go
fight and stay healthy, and just trying to progress through
the competition. And so that was that was just kind
of a whirlwind of itself, because you know, even before that,

(24:10):
I was fighting like once every few months, three or
four months, I was fighting once and in that you know,
two month period or month, and I have two month period,
I fought four times and they're all exhibitions, so they
don't even count on your record, really, and I was
three and one, so that was a big It was
just a bit overwhelming at the time. But like I said,
I was young and naive and just happy to be there,
So I was willing to fight a hundred times.

Speaker 5 (24:33):
Was it heard on your body like the fourth fight?

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Specifically for me, it wasn't because I was able to
avoid a lot of injuries. I mean, you know, I
took damage in some of those fights, you know, but
nothing that was substantial. Then I couldn't, you know, heal
up after you know, a week, you know of after
the fight and at least be eighty to ninety percent
ready for my next fight.

Speaker 3 (24:53):
What's the biggest burn moment you learned from being on
The Ultimate Fighter that got you to where you're at today?

Speaker 2 (25:00):
Uh? Specifically kind of going back to that Artum and
Connor situation is uh, it kind of becomes who you
know more than what you know, and uh that's kind
of what led me out to Las Vegas and kind
of uh switched over my management to Jason House because uh,
I Ridium has just been so so accommodating and just

(25:21):
I mean I was one, I was one and four
in the UFC cut for the second time, and he
still had his idea about getting me into the UFC,
and I was there's no way they're gonna want me.
He's like, you know, we can make this happen. And
so uh, having somebody who's backing your name, uh, that
has the ability and the connections just as hard as
your training is so key in the sport, and I

(25:43):
think maybe in any sport really uh and uh, but
most importantly in the UFC and and fighting in general,
because I did you know, before I was with Iridium,
I knocked out Jamal Emers on the Contender Series with
a hey kick knockout and I was a three to
one underdog and they didn't sign me off that, which
was absolutely insane. And uh, I think the Contender Series
back then was a little different than it is now.

(26:05):
But I mean the whole idea of Contender Series is
to get a highlight reel finish over a really good dude.
And Jamal Emers is in the UFC right now, you know,
And and I was able to get a head kick,
highlight reel knockout and it was a great fight. If
you can watch that fight back, it's a it's entertaining fun.
And wasn't able to get signed off of that performance.

(26:26):
And then you know, a few days after I signed
with a Riddim, He's like, Yo, we can do a
short not his fight in Colorado. What do you feel
about it? I'm like, let's do it. Like I can't.
I couldn't believe how quickly he was able to get
me into the UFC. And so from The Ultimate Fighter,
I really learned that it's not necessarily what you know
abou who you know.

Speaker 4 (26:43):
How hard was that to fathom, like getting a nice
knockout on during the West Contenter series, Like how mentally
challenging was that for you?

Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah? It was tough, man, I you know, I knocked
him out and obviously you have the high. My whole
family's there watching it, and it's like it's such an
intimate setting because it was at the old Ultimate Fighter gym.
So it's like I mean, it's kind of like the
Apex in a sense as well, that it's very intimate
like that, and there's nobody there but the fighters, families, Dana,

(27:12):
you know, some of the other UFC people as well,
and then your coaches, and so after you get a
win like that, it's just like it's just an unreal feeling.
I mean, obviously, you know, fighting in front of Dana
White as well, and getting a win like that in
front of him is just, you know, the highest of
highs in this sport. And so man, I felt so
good about it. Winning the back changed my stuff. Came

(27:33):
back out and was talking to friends and family, and
I was just like, Oh, that's a shoe and there's
no way he can't. I mean, I thought, I thought,
because I had already been on The Ultimate Fighter and
I already been in the UFC, I felt like if
I got a win over Jamal Ahmers, being an underdog
against him, because I felt like he was the prospect
they were looking for, and so for me to get
a win over him, no matter what, even if it's
kind of a boring fight, They're probably gonna sign me.
And that's kind of how it is now in the

(27:53):
Contender Series. They lying guys up to their kind of
prospects and if they get the win, they usually get signed.
And so that's how I felt about it back then.
And then not only that, I got the knockout, so
it really kind of was just the best it probably
could have happened for me. I could have really, uh
you know, imagined it better than it happened. And actually
he had. We had a really fun first round and
he dropped me at the end of the first round,

(28:14):
and then for me to come back and knock him
out the way I did was just, you know, it
was it was the best way I could have drawn
it up. And then to be sitting there and they're
like calling people for the contracts and they and Dana
White said he wasn't gonna sign me, but then to
keep doing what I'm doing. I was just like, man,
doing what I'm doing. I had like seven fights outside

(28:36):
the US in between those stints, in between my stints,
and I was like, like, what else do you want
me to be doing? This is like what I should
be doing. I'm here on the Contender Series to prove
myself again. I proved myself like and but it's you know,
It's one of those things that just kind of gives
you the underdog feeling and makes you want to work
harder and showcase and and just show everybody up again,
you know, and so uh, you know it. It sucks

(28:57):
in a sense, but I feel like if everything is
handed to you, it can take away that hunger from you.
And so it was more of a you know, a
positive underlining.

Speaker 5 (29:05):
Yeah, made you more hungrier.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, what year was this? I would say like twenty
maybe twenty nineteen. Okay, yeah, it was before the pandemic
for sure. Man, I don't even know what CEM was
of the Contender series. But one thing that I did
also learn too was a part of that whole Artum
and Connor thing about who you know a little bit

(29:26):
is Shefchenko's sister, Antonina Shepchenko was the main event on
our Contender series. She was she had a short notice
replacement fight against this They said their girl who was
a nine to one underdog against Shepchenko, and Shepchenko ended
up tk I won her kind of on the elbows,
like one of those like not like crazy TKO's, but

(29:47):
it was just kind of like the girl was on
fighting back. So they stopped the fight, but since she
was since chefchenko sisters would be the first six sisters
in the UFC, she obviously got signed off that and
then for them to surpass me was it just showed
me that it's a little bit about who you know.
And then even the heavyweight after me. I can't remember
the guy's name. Man, he's in the UFC now too,

(30:08):
but he did a spinning backfist like or a spinning
back kick knockout, which I was like, man, heavyweights do
not do that. Parisian I think I was Parisian. Uh,
but he did that, and they instead of giving him
a contract with the UFC, they told him he was
gonna appear on the next Ultimate Fighter at heavyweight, which
I feel like the Ultimate Fighter was actually kind of
a step down from Contenders because the Ultimate Fighter is

(30:29):
something you kind of have to battle through a bunch
of different guys to get a contract with the UFC.
The Contenders is better, and I think Contenders, you know, overall,
is better than the Ultimate Fighter in the sense of
like you just you gotta go out there and fight
one time. If you do good, you get signed, versus
having to you know, battle your way through. I had
to battle my way through some of the best guys
on my show and to get my contract, so and

(30:50):
I almost didn't get it off the Ultimate Fighter, so
like that was almost like I felt like that was
kind of a slap in the face for him too,
because like, when do you ever see heavyweights doing spinning
And this guy did a spinning back for his knockout
and uh and didn't get signed. So I was like, man,
I like, I felt bad for myself, but I also
felt bad for him, you know, and felt bad for
some of the other guys that got overlooked because you know,

(31:11):
Shevchenko's sister was on there, uh, and they were obviously
holding a spot for her.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
I feel like that's super common now because you see
Danil White contentent series now and they're signing guys who
win by decision. Yes, yes, it's it's crazy. They're almost
letting everyone in well.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
And even they I mean, there was a couple of
guys I think they got signed off of losing the
fight and they signed them off that or even uh,
and then then it just I just think it's a
little inconsistent in the sense of like you see some
guys that have you know, will go and fight and win,
and they're like, well, we're gonna bring you back to
the Contender Series, and they three four fights in the
Contender Series. Like I don't think they should. I mean,

(31:45):
I don't know. I don't understand how how they like
to run it or what they're specifically looking for, but
I feel like it can be a little inconsistent in
some sense, and even just maybe just the time difference
as well. Back when I full Contenders versus now, it
seems like they're letting more guys in now than they
were back when I was fighting Contenter Series or even
like some of my teammates. Chris Curtis is a good example.

(32:06):
He got a he'll kick knockout at welterweight and they
didn't sign him. Danny Gay is a good example to
Danny Gay demolished his opponent with wrestling, grappling, striking and
ended up choking the guy out and didn't get signed.
And look at all three of us. Now we're in
the UFC, and you know, Danny Gay is one of
the best featherweights in the world. Chris Curtis is. I mean,

(32:26):
you're talking about two guys that are ranked in the UFC.
Now they didn't get sign off their wins and would
have been highlights like if those if they did the
same performances they did off Contender Series in the UFC,
they probab would have got a bonus or it would
have been a fight of the night kind of situation.
So the fact they didn't get signed off that was
a little is I think it's just more of it
was back in the day when they were first coming
out with Contender Series, and I think maybe they were

(32:47):
still trying to figure out how they were going to
make it work to where they weren't signing too many
guys or missing out on some guys. I don't know,
but now it definitely seems like if they have their
eye on you and you just win your fight, they're
gonna sign you.

Speaker 4 (32:59):
Yeah, that's kind of amazing to see because you guys,
after being telling no so many times, you just kept going,
kept going, kept going. And to see you guys in
the UFC now it's it's super cool to see.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah. I mean, me and Chris Curtis have very similar
similar stories. I mean, we're veterans outside, we're veterans of
the sport, you know, not not even with the UFC.
Necessarily beforehand. I mean, me and him have shoot, I
got almost or I have I'm one shy away from
forty pro fights. Uh, and you know Chris Curtis is

(33:29):
hovering around the same area as well, and uh, just
been around the block, and we I feel like we
pay paid our dues for so long and just have
been told no for so long that finally when we
got there, it's, uh, you know, it's kind of a
weight off our shoulders. But you know, I was talking
to him today about it as well, as like, uh,
you know when you get when you finally get there,
you feel like a relief, but like this is when

(33:51):
you really want to feel that hunger, like you like,
like even after a couple of my wins that I
had over like Steven petersoner Dollar dou like, I felt
like I had reached the mountaintop. But once you start
getting a little bit too comfortable, you can lose sight
of why you started doing this and kind of lose
that hunger. And so me and him were talking about
it today and when we were fighting back, when we

(34:12):
were getting no's on the Contender series, we had such
a hunger that was insane, Like we were willing to
fight for free. If back then Dana White said hey,
we'll sign you to a contract, but you got to
do this fight for free for us, I feel like
I would have said yes immediately, like I would have
whatever you need. Like, so you got to remember the
way you thought back in those days when you're in

(34:33):
that you know, when you're actually back when you're in
the UFC and you at these high level situations and
fighting these guys, you got to remember how hungry you
were when you were fighting on the small shows and
on the Contenders and stuff like that.

Speaker 3 (34:45):
We had Jason House on our podcast back in April,
and he actually talked about it after the Dana White
Contender series, whenever you got the knockout and COVID happened,
you would actually make weight every Friday, Yeah, and just
waiting to get into the UFC and finally you got
your shot.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
Yeah, And what was that like?

Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah? You know, I you know, just like I said,
it's about who you know a little bit as well.
And I'm lucky that I have a guy like Jason
House is really backing me and has really taken a
liking to me as well. And so during that whole situation,
the whole COVID situation. So mind you, I had already
had two I already had two stints in the UFC,

(35:23):
e Ben cut I was one and four in the UFC,
and uh, never thought I was going to be back
in there. And Jason, you know, reassured me, like, no,
let's we'll do it, man. We'll get you a couple
of fights out of the UFC and we'll get you
back in. I had one fight back at Cage Sport
against a J. Bryant, who was he was a decent
a decent fight, you know, he was like thirteen and
four at the time. Uh, and he was he was
a tough kid. You know. I was able to get

(35:43):
a submission over him. But anyways, right after that, literally
I fought in February of that year of twenty twenty,
and then March everything started shutting down. And so that
was kind of lucky for me because what was happening
was fighters couldn't you know, make it because of COVID,
A lot of restrictions in like Canada and international restrictions

(36:05):
for these other fighters, and so it seemed like every
single week there was like three or four or five
guys falling off these cards because of COVID issues, and
so Jason said, just stay ready, stay in shape, and
there's gonna be a short notice call, I'm telling you,
and he actually told the whole gym under kzy Hollstate
at ten Planet, all your guys stay ready. There's gonna

(36:27):
be short notice replacements that they're gonna need. And if
you guys are ready, you guys can make way. You
guys live in Vegas and your medicals are done. You know,
you're an easy an easy puzzle piece to fit into
their equation if they need you. And especially me because
I had already been in the UFC, so it had
my and it got my medicals done. So I was
riding my bike every day. We were training only one
time a day, kind of backdoor training where we weren't

(36:50):
supposed to be training necessarily, but you know, we were
going to gyms, We're going to people's garages and stuff.
And I was riding my bike like fifty miles like
every day in the heat, like it was in the
summer time too. Sorry, and so uh, like three weeks
prior to that, it was like my name was in
the hat with a couple other guys on fallouts and
I just like, they missed me. It missed me, It

(37:11):
missed me. And then uh, Sean Woodson had already actually
chose somebody else. It was me, Daniel Paneda and somebody else.
And Daniel Pineda had said that he probably couldn't passed
a test for the COVID. So I was like, I
wasn't the runner up. I was the third guy. I was.
It wasn't the backup. I was the third guy. So uh,
I got so lucky because the next week and they

(37:33):
were going to Abu Daby and so short nots replacements
were gonna happen during that whole period of time. So
it was the last week they were here in Las
Vegas for when they went to Abu Dhabi, and I
was like, you know, they're probably not gonna choose me.
And then Wednesday rolled around, they and actually Jason told
me to go on Tuesday to get my medicals done
because I was a possibility to fill in for that fight.
And on the way, I'm sitting in the U in

(37:54):
the waiting room to get my blood taken, and uh,
he calls me and said, hey man, sorry, they chose
his kid from Texas turned out to be Daniel Pineda.
So I ended up driving back home and he's all like,
calls me back and he's like, hey, man, just just
make sure you get your medical's done. He's like something
will pop up. And then the next day I still
got my medicals done. He the next day he said,
you're in. Brother. He's like a banana kind of passed
drug or couldn't passed a h COVID test. So you're in.

(38:17):
And you know, luckily enough, I was kind of waterloading
every week. Wasn't making weight every week, but I was
making myself ready to be able to make weight if
I needed to. And it's tough, man, I'm a big featherweight,
and sou I was able to kind of just I
was doing my waterloading and doing kind of the stuff
that I do during the week of a five week
almost every single week, and and uh we ended up
doing a catchwaight at one fifty and was it and

(38:39):
actually made it as low as one forty eight, and
then uh, you know, ended up getting my job back
off that fight and got a bonus. And it was
just one of those moments where like like if I
didn't take these steps, like if I wasn't training as
hard as I was. If I wasn't worrying about my weight,
if I didn't get my medicals done, if I didn't
have somebody like Jason House backing me, this opportunity wouldn't

(38:59):
have I'd have presented it presented itself, but I might
have not been ready for it. And so the fact
that I had all these things head aligned, and it
was probably the worst situation. It was probably this worst
situation to have a UFC fight. You know, like I
don't know if I'm fighting or not, but you know,
my weight's kind of maybe gonna be there or not,
you know. And then, uh the training was kind of
hit or missed because we didn't like you know, COVID.

(39:20):
We didn't know what was going on. It was like
almost like a it was like a summer party for
adults at the time. So we're you know, we're more
worried about, you know, how we're gonna pay bills because
we didn't you know, my wife was kind of getting
laid off, and uh so I wasn't necessarily worried about
getting a fight. I didn't think I was gonna have
an opportunity to get a fight, And so having someone
like Jason House in my ear telling me stay ready,
it'll happen. That's really what kind of drove me to

(39:42):
just work my ass off and stay ready for that fight.
And and after that fight, I got my job back
with the UFC, and it's been, uh, you know, it's
been such a rollercoaster. And uh, that was like the
fight for sure that like embodied my style the most,
like and not even my style, but my whole story
like just like went through adversity like I was. I
might have been down two rounds leading in that fight,

(40:03):
or leading in that third round and he drops me
in the third round and ended up having to drag
him down and choke him out, and uh, and just
kind of show the grit. And I think that's kind
of just embodies my whole fighting style and my whole
fight career.

Speaker 5 (40:14):
Yeah, that really that's what I really showed who you are.

Speaker 4 (40:16):
But how did you not lose faith during that time
when you're continuous being like, oh okay, you might fight,
Oh nope, sorry, and then you go to the next week,
then the next week, then the next week.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
Well yeah, you know, it's interesting that you say that
because the weekend before that, Camacho, I don't know his
last I don't know if that's his first name or
his last name. But Camacho had a fight that fell
out for him and Justin James that trains that extreme.
He ended up filling in for him super short noticed,
like I did, was on with them the next weekend,
and UH ended up getting a knockout and in like
thirty seconds and got a bonus and UH and I

(40:48):
was one of the names in the hats for that
fight too, So it was like me, Justin James and
I think a couple other guys that was in the
hat that was in the was in the drawing to
take that fight on short notice, and watching that happen
for him that that weekend, I was just like, god, man,
that could have been me. And literally it happened to
me the next weekend, so like like it's you, just

(41:11):
you kind of just I don't know. I think it's
just about being optimistic. Like I've always been very optimistic,
and and you know, it's hard not to be envious
of other guys, but you can't you can't, you can't really,
you can't, you know, make your feelings out to be
what's happening to other people, you know, because if you
do that, you can drive yourself crazy. Like if I

(41:31):
if I get happy or said when some people get
shots and some people don't get shots, then it's like
that's a waste of energy in my mind. So you
got to be happy for people and just hope that
it happens to you and if you be able to
capitalize on those opportunities. So I just wanted to make
I just wanted to make the most of any opportunity.
And so I knew if I just stayed on top
of my training, kept my weight down that, uh, if

(41:52):
the opportunity presented itself, I'd be ready. If it didn't,
it didn't happen. It's one of those things, you know.
I had the Contenders series said no to me, lost
three UFC fights, and got cut for the second time.
Uh So I'd already been through addiversity, so it was
like that was nothing new to me, especially in the
sport and in the UFC. So I was like, you know,
if it happens, it happens, I'm like the most of it.

(42:13):
If it doesn't, I've had worse things happen to me.

Speaker 4 (42:15):
So I think the key thing is just always keeping
a positive mindset. Yeah, and a positive outlook and been like, Okay,
I wasn't supposed to fight in this fight, and yeah,
obviously the perfect fight aroused for you to be sitting
here today.

Speaker 2 (42:27):
Camacho's not a is not the ideal matchup for me.
I mean, uh, you know, he's a heavy hitting, you know,
kind of a knock you out kind of guy, like
in the in the early goings of a fight, and
if I would have maybe dragged that fight out, I
could have had some success. But uh, Sean Woodson was
almost the perfect opponent for me because uh, I knew

(42:49):
that he was gonna have a little bit of reach
on me, but he wasn't gonna have that one like
that one punch knock out power. He's you know, the
guy's probably the tallest featherweight in the world. He's six
two and a half and he fights a featherweight. And
I thought, I was like, I'm six foot one, I'm
like one of the tallest featherweights. And I was like,
I didn't even know who Sean Woodson was at the time,
and I was like, well, maybe I should look him up.
So I started looking him up and I'm like, how
was this guy said he's taller than me. This is

(43:10):
the first guy that I ever thought that was taller
than me, and his reach was like seventy eight inches,
and I was like, man, he was a golden gloves
boxer like and h But the one good thing about
the whole situation was I just knew he didn't have
that like one punch knock out power. So I was like,
as long as I just hang into this fight, hanging
to the fight, hanging into it, I can break him
down mentally physically, my cardial will be there. And I

(43:31):
think from the outside looking in a lot of people
thought maybe I wasn't training, you know, I mean, or
training is hard, like I just uh, because was COVID.
It was literally like right in the beginning of it,
when no one it seemed like all the gyms were
closed and nobody was really training super hard unless you
had unless you had a fight, you know, if you
were in a fight camp in the UFC, obviously were training.
So Sean was definitely training, but he might have thought

(43:53):
I wasn't training. So I think he might have took
that a little bit lightly and didn't realize that my
cardinal was going to hold up the whole fight. And
I think that's eventually what broke him and uh and
and eventually I was able to get that sub. I
think it had to do with uh, you know, my
ability to have good cardio when he probably thought I
didn't have good cardio.

Speaker 4 (44:11):
And all the adversities you've been through in your life. Yeah,
like you went through adversity in that fight alone, and
you knew that you could pull it out of the
fire at the right time.

Speaker 2 (44:17):
And also I felt like I almost felt like I
was free rolling. Like it was like one of those
things where it's just like like, okay, I'm like people already,
like even like when they had matched us up, Like
there was comments on the thing lead like a couple
of days beforehand, saying that I was the sheep they
were just or the land that they were just guiding
to get slaughtered kind of thing. And they thought I

(44:37):
was the biggest underdog on the on the whole card,
and I was. They called me the parlay killer because
I was, you know, I killed everybody's parlays because woods
when I thought for sure I was gonna lose. You know,
I was one and four in the UFC, and a
lot of people, you know, don't see the twenty something
other winds that have outside the UFC, Like it's insane,
Like I have like a lot of good wins over

(44:58):
tough guys. You know, some guys that you know, I
never made it to the UFC, that I fought in
the regional shows, maybe could have made it to the
UFC under the right circumstances. You know, everybody, you know,
things happened to people. You know, you have kids, you
get you know, you go through you know, you get married,
you have divorces, you know, if you have family tragedies
that happened, injuries, all these kinds of things, but it

(45:21):
doesn't take away their abilities. And I thought a lot
of guys that were, you know, undefeated on some of
these regional shows that were really good up up and
coming prospects, you know, and was able to beat those
guys and people they only see your UFC fights, and
so being one and four in the UFC and the
only time I ever won was off the Oldsmate fighters,
So that was like my very first UFC fight at
that time. Uh, people were really only like relating or

(45:47):
relating my fighting ability to my four losses in the UFC.
You know, they weren't because that's all they could really,
you know, they weren't looking, they weren't going down the
rabbit hole of the YouTube and looking up Julian's regional
show when he fought you know, Cage four titles, you know,
and fought kids. You know, I thought Daniel Swain who
was on The Contender Singers. I fought Austin Springer who
actually tried out for The Ultimate Fighter that I was on,
and I beat him for a title. So it's like,

(46:09):
you know, people don't you know a lot of these trolls,
I would say, you know, they like to post and
say these stuff just based off your performances on TV
on the UFC when a lot of a lot of
us guys have so many fights outside of the UFC,
there's such a you know there. I mean, nowadays it's
a little different. I feel like guys have less records
before the UFC than they used to have. But for me,
it's like, you know, the majority of my fights are

(46:30):
outside of the UFC and have a lot of good
wins out there, and that people don't relate my fighting
to because they only related to what's in the UFC
and the Ultimate Fighter.

Speaker 4 (46:38):
Do you think that's really helped you being in the UFC,
is having so many amateur fights and fights outside of
the UFC, Well.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Yeah, one hundred percent. I think, Uh, to be a
good fighter, you have to experience fighting, and you have
to practice fighting. I think Sean Stricklin says it the
best when he says that, you know, uh, you have
to practice fighting to be good at fighting. And so
uh and what's even what's even better than practicing fighting,
which was sparring, uh is having more fights, you know,
and and and and realizing those ups and downs and

(47:05):
those mistakes in the cage. You know. I feel like
that's when you learn the most. You know. Uh, you
can have a bad day in the gym, but you
can kind of wash away the next day, you know,
and have a good day in the gym, But if
you have a bad day in the cage, it's something
that's hard to forget. And uh uh and so you
can really try to learn off those mistakes.

Speaker 4 (47:21):
This portion of the Burn Factory Podcast is sponsored by
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Speaker 3 (47:38):
All right, Julian, it's time to go to R and burn.
It stands for ridiculous. It's time to go to a
happier subject. Talking about all the unfortunate things. But being
a professional fighter, there has to be one ridiculous thing
that happened.

Speaker 5 (47:54):
You're just like, what just happened?

Speaker 4 (47:56):
Could be a fan question, that could be like maybe
some like yelled something at you, like making the walk
is They're kind of a ridiculous bare moment that you
you had to go through, you know.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Like specifically with fighting. Oh you know what, Yeah, there
is Actually it's so there's a kid named Ryan mulbi Hill.
We're actually pretty good friends now. But if you look
at my record, look at his record, we fought three times,
and uh so what happened at first was we fought
early on our pro careers, and then uh we fought
again after I beat him the first time and we

(48:30):
only had a couple of pro fights. Then we both
went on like five fight win streaks and we're probably
the toughest guys or the best guys in our region
up in Washington, and so we ended up fighting again
for a title and I beat him again, and then
one of his teammates that I was supposed to fight
fell out due to injury, and he's like, what do
I gotta lose, I'll fight J again. So we fought again,
and we kind of had this long time rivalry. But
and that's kind of a story in itself, but we're

(48:52):
really good friends now, probably the closest guy that I've
ever fought in relationship now and really good dude. But
the funny thing about fighting him, and it's only happened
with him two times that I had fought him. The
first two times, I was defending shots against the cage
and my uh not my big toe, my toe next
to it dissocated in the fight, and I've seen it happen,

(49:15):
and I was like, the very first time it happened
was the first time it ever happened in my life.
And I don't know if it was because I was
defending so hard that my toe was pushing in the
mat and they just like clicked over and but I
looked down in my tone, I was like, what the heck?
And he takes me down because I was kind of
like sidetracked obviously, and I'm on the ground. I'm like,
he was in my garden. I'm like, what the hell's
going on? So I reached down and grab it. I
click it back in and I'm like, all right, well,

(49:35):
I guess it's fine. And then after that fight, it
was definitely swollen, and it never happened again until I
fought him again for the title. Sure enough, it happened again.
I was like, yeah, its so bizarre. I had no idea,
and I equated to his strength is wrestling and jujitsu,
so he was really trying to take me down. He's
a strong guy, and so I had to give everything

(49:56):
I had. And uh, they call it kind of the
Elvis Presley, but when you're like defending from the cage
and you're kind of like wide like this, and I
was pressing so hard off my back foot and it
was just pressing my toe and my my second toe
was longer than my my my big toe and uh,
and so that could have been it as well. But
it's just it was so bizarre that it happened twice
in my life and it was only on fights with him,

(50:19):
and yeah, just h And that's like probably one of
the only injury, biggest, the only big injury I've ever
had it in fighting. It was just my times. Yeah,
it's no random.

Speaker 3 (50:30):
That's like chewing food and once you chew, you bite
your lip and then you bite it again. It's like,
I can't stop biting my lip?

Speaker 5 (50:35):
What's going on?

Speaker 2 (50:35):
Got it happened to me earlier today?

Speaker 5 (50:39):
This is gonna happen to me because I said it.
But it kind of reminded me of like when something happens,
can't stop happening, you.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
Know, it's so crazy. Though it's like it's never happened
after that too, Like I felt like because it happened
again the second time I fought him, and I was like, well,
I guess my toe is more susceptible to it now.
And I had a buddy who used to dislocate his
shoulder a lot, uh, and I got to the point
where his shoulder would just popping it out all the time,
even when he would sleep. So I was like, maybe
when things get dislocated, they obviously don't you know, they're

(51:08):
not one hundred percent when he goes back in. And
so I was like, maybe my toe is just gonna
be screwed for the rest of my life. But like,
at least it's my toe on my shoulder and on
my ankle, not something else more substantial. Uh and uh,
but just has it happened ever since then?

Speaker 5 (51:22):
Either, So like two times with just that guy, it
probably got shronger.

Speaker 4 (51:27):
It'd be funny. You'd probably go roll around with him
and it would come out again.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
Yeah maybe maybe, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (51:32):
Yeah, let that be a coincidence.

Speaker 2 (51:34):
Oh my gosh, that would be very interesting that if
we're doing that.

Speaker 5 (51:38):
But so is that the only ridiculous thing you've you've
kind of gone through in your career.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
I mean there's a lot. I mean, I mean from
being on The Ultimate Fighter Show, you know, me and
Chris Gritzmocker almost kind of had a little scuffle on
there inside the house because we drank a little bit
too much and we're kind of joking around. I mean,
that was a little bit of a I'm very non confrontational,
you know, I don't I don't you know, I get
uncomfortab confrontation, you know, And I'm the type of guy

(52:02):
that you could say something bad about me or my
family or something and I would just be like, oh,
I guess I see your point of view.

Speaker 5 (52:09):
You know.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
I'm kind of like that, you know in a sense. Uh,
And so kind of like when like if I ever
get aggressive or like, uh, you know, confrontational, it's it's
kind of out of my character. And so, uh, when
I was on those Ultimate Fighter House, what happened too,
because the whole Artem coming back. What happened was we
had eight and eight, eight Europeans and eight Americans, and
obviously if there's eight fights, there's gonna be eight winners,

(52:30):
and they got to pin those guys together. But what
happened was they brought Artem back, they brought somebody else,
Johnny nunia Is back on the American side, So there
was nine and nine. So after nine winners, it's gonna
be you can't matche nine guys up. There's gonna be
an odd man out. So what Dana White said was,
since there's gonna be an odd man out, not only
do you have to win your fight, but you don't
you don't want to be the boring fight. So if

(52:51):
you're the boring fight out of the nine winners, uh,
you're gonna we're dropping that fight. It's like that's crazy.
So you win the Ultimate Fighter House and you and
you still get dropped. And so what happened was Chris
Chritzmoker I think was the first fight after we got
into the house, first or second fight and won his fight,
and it was a boring fight, honestly, you know. And uh,
not taking anything away from Chris, because me and him

(53:12):
are cool now as well, but uh, you know, when
you're in the Ultimate Fighting House, you're just trying to win.
You don't care how you get it. You just want
to win to get to the next the next fight.
And uh, and so we're not really and I don't
know if Dana White had said that before after his
fight either, So, uh, what was happening was slowly, as
the fights were going on, we knew Chris Gritzmalker's fight

(53:33):
was the was the most boring fight. So we're like, well,
you just have to be a bit more exciting than
he was, which wasn't very hard to do, uh, to
get to get to the next the next round. And
so what happened was we drank a little bit too
much one night and uh he uh kind of overheard
me talking about that, and and I had a little
less discretion on my end because I had you know,

(53:54):
I had a few shots and uh didn't really care
if he heard me or not. At that point, and
so we ended up getting in each other's face, and
it kind of it was kind of one of the
things on the show that they built up a little bit.
But uh, we were swimming in the pool and then
we also hade the pool and there was a bottle
of water and he was through the bottle water at me,
and I was just like, well, I was just swimming
like that's not gonna bother me, and I'm pretty easy going.

(54:16):
And then but there was some steak sauce right next
to what he grabs that and he starts throw flicking
that on me, and then I started getting in his face,
and then we started, you know, we had to get
separated a little bit. I don't think we would end
up fighting each other in, you know, inside the house,
because we knew that we knew the ramifications of that
or and and uh, if you get in the fight
in the house, that you might get kicked out of
the house and not lose your opportunity. So I think

(54:37):
we were just kind of gonna talk to each other
and it was gonna get kind of pushed aside, and uh,
but that was one of those things that was just
like I just felt so out of nature because I'm
not like that, you know, I I you know, and
he was on my team too, like, yeah, so there
was no reason for me to like, you know, you know,
pick a fight with him anyways. You know, I was
just I was kind of just saying the truth. And honestly,

(54:58):
what happened was after the nine fights, his fight got
dropped because it was the most boring fight. So it
was it. You know, I wasn't necessarily you know, making
stuff up to cause the situation. It was something that
was gonna happen, and we all knew it, and I
was just the one who said it out loud, and
I was a little innubriated, auviriated, so it kind of,
you know, made it made it easier for me to
do that when I normally probably wouldn't have done that.

(55:19):
So that's one of those times where, like I said,
I haven't really watched much of The Ultimate Fighter that
I was on because I hate seeing those kind of
things that kind of contradict who I am.

Speaker 5 (55:30):
Was it weird arguing with the cameras right there?

Speaker 2 (55:33):
Well, it got to the point where so obviously right
out of the gate, the cameras are weird, right, So,
like there's alse cameras in people's faces. And I even
seen people like the camera guys would come in and
guys would wake up on their bunk bed and look
over and the cameras in their face, and I'm like,
that's a bit weird. But after you know, a couple
of weeks, and not even that it only took a

(55:54):
couple of days for me, it kind of accustomed to it.
You're supposed to act like the cameras aren't there, like
they're the I think, what do they call it the
wall or whatever, I can't remember how they call it,
whatever it is, but you're supposed to act like they're
not around. And so, uh So after like a week,
everybody was pretty accustomed to it, and and so like
even arguing with uh with Chris, I wasn't even thinking

(56:15):
about the cameras. I was actually just thinking about, uh,
just kind of what was going on then, And I
was actually thinking about like kind of the your because
the European guys were sitting outside and they started like
seeing what's going on here. So I was more worried
about like other guys getting kind of like on edge
because of it. I really wasn't even thinking about the cameras.

Speaker 4 (56:32):
I feel like there's a lot of times like that
in The Ultimate Fighter. We just are in the zone
and you forget that the cameras are even there.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
Yeah, it just yeah, you it's one of those things
that you you you get used to it because it's
twenty four to seven, so it's not like it's not
like here and right now where like I haven't had
a camera on me and now I'm here with the camera. Yeah. Uh,
because I was getting a little nervous. I'm like, man,
this is you know, I was getting a little nervous.
But uh uh be on the Ultimate Fighter house the
very first few couple of days or the first couple

(56:59):
of days, you are nervous about that kind of stuff,
and you're like, I don't want to say the wrong thing.
The cameras forget everywhere. You don't want to do the
wrong thing and get caught doing something' I supposed to
be doing. And then after a couple of days you
just forget about them and you're just like it's just normal,
you know. And and if they would come in and out,
it would have been different, but they were there literally
twenty four to seven, like, and so you just it

(57:20):
just became something. It was something you got accustomed to
and just it became natural.

Speaker 4 (57:24):
Yeah, all right, Julian, it's time to move on to
en R was amazing. That's kind of so funny that
your toe kept popping out with the same guy in
two different fights. But ND stands for now and next,
so it's kind of two parts. So are there any
burn moments you're going through right now in your life?
And are there any burn moments that you foresee coming
up in the future. Oh?

Speaker 2 (57:45):
Man, I mean for sure right now. You know, I
have two losses. My last two fights were losses in
the UFC, and so once you start, you know kind
of you know, tippy toe in that line of you know,
losing fights and and you don't know when you could
get cut.

Speaker 1 (58:01):
You know.

Speaker 2 (58:01):
With the UFC, it's like one of those things that
you just don't know when your time is up, Like
they could call me tomorrow, you know, and release me.
So I'm just you know, I'm happy to be still
in the UFC, and you know, I'm hoping to get
a fight soon. But it sucks to lose two fights
in a row. My last fight was a little controversial,
and you know, Fernando Paddy. I don't want to take

(58:22):
anything away from him, because he's a great fighter by
all means. But I think Chris Tyone ended that fight
a little a little quick. I think what happened was,
since he had dropped me the first time, Chris Tione
was already willing to stop the fight if I got
dropped again, and so when he hit me again, I
dropped to a knee and popped back up. He already
had it in his mind that he was stopping the

(58:43):
fight that happened again, and then he I think even
realized himself that I was okay, that he could have
let the fight go a little bit longer at least.
I mean, I was kind of running off, and there's
been other fights where I thought maybe it was a
little soon. And rewatched the fight, I was like, Nah,
he stopped it. I'm glad he stopped it. And then uh,
But with that, that's something that eats at me a
little bit because that was a fight that I like,

(59:05):
because I feel like that's happened to me a lot
like Sean Woodson dropped me in that fight that I won.
Charles Jordane dropped in that fight that I want Nate
Lamware dropped in that faith fight that I want. And
I've always been kind of one of those guys that
hangs around and then I win the fight. You can
beat the dog crap out of me for fourteen minutes,
but I'll be there in the fifteenth minute. And so
I felt like that was gonna be one of my
strengths against Fernando is you know, the second half of

(59:27):
that fight, and so not being able to showcase that,
and it felt like it was a little premature stoppage
is one of those bird moments for sure that like
kind of resonate in my head. But it's one of
those things too, like where in the wins or losses
you have to just kind of move past them. If
you sit and you stew in losses for too long,

(59:48):
it can sidetrack you. And if you just if you
think you're the man for too long after winning a fight,
then I feel like I can also mess with their psyche.
You know, some people, I feel like they want to
just live in that win for so long that they're
kind of afraid to move on to get another fight
because they're you know, afraid of you know, losing that feeling.
You know, if you lose a fight, you know, then
you're like, then you feel bad about it, and then

(01:00:09):
you want to you want to find that that that
winning feeling again. And so when people get a win,
especially big wins, like even when I beat Hakeem Dawoud
Do was like, uh, I just wanted it again quickly.
But some people, I feel like they just want to
like settle in.

Speaker 5 (01:00:20):
That win for months we were at that fight.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was. I mean, I feel like
that was one of my best performances and uh and
it was. It was It was more redemption for me
because the last time I had been on a big
pay per view was at the mgm UH coming off.
It was my second UFC fight against ish Uh Trudo
Ishihara Uh. He was fighting out a UH team Alpha
mel and ended up getting knocked out in front of everybody.

(01:00:46):
And I had it had that fight, and also too
because Joe Rogan only usually does the pay per views
and I've always been a big fan of Joe Rogan,
so I was like that was one of the things
that was at a pressure. Even back then, I was like, man,
I want to talk to Joe Rogan, like I know
if I'm talking to Joe Rogan means I want my fight,
and I've always just wanted to talk to him and
uh in a cage, you know, I ate as a
post fight a little interview with him, and so fighting

(01:01:09):
uh Hakim dall would do it at the Tim Mobile
Arena was by that redemption. But the only crappy thing
about that I was I was the only winner of
that night that didn't get to talk to Joe Rogan
because I was the main event on the prelimbs and
it was running late, so instead of my interview, they
had to just run. They just started running the paying car.
So I'm the only guy who's who won that night

(01:01:30):
they didn't get to talk to Joe Rogan. And I
was like it was like like right after the first round,
I had almost knocked out uh Hakim Dalla do, and
I looked over and I seen Joe Rogan's face and
he was like, you know he was like because right
right at the end of that first round was pretty
crazy and so like I seen him, I was like,
oh man, that was like in between those two rounds,
was like, I can't wait to talk to this dude,

(01:01:51):
Like I gotta go, I gotta go. Finish this guy
and get this win. And things had been obviously working
out well for me in that first round, so I
was like, just keep your just keep focused, You'll be
able to talk to Joe Rogan and uh and then
after winning the fight, the lights kind of dimmed and
I was like, uh, yo, where's Joe at And like
one of the one I don't know if was the
commission guy or one of the UFC worker dudes, he's like,
oh man, we ran out of time, bro, you have

(01:02:12):
to go, and it's pointing me off stage, and I
was like, man, Like that was so disheartening for me
because like because I'd fought a bunch in the UFC,
you know, even before that, but it was all Apex stuff.
So like, literally the majority of my fights are the
ones that I had done well in, you know, the
five or the the other four wins that I had

(01:02:32):
were at the Apex so and jer Rogan doesn't really
do the APEX fights or doesn't commentate them and and
do the interviews, and so I was so excited to
redeem myself on a pay per view card and one
of the biggest ones and one of the biggest like
debacles too, Like with the whole main event, like switching around.
It was like with Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson, h d
Rod and uh all the other guys that had to

(01:02:54):
get switched around like that was crazy, like so like
it was just such a crazy fight week for that situation.
And then, uh, and then I was just so focused
on redeeming myself on a pay per view card and
I was able to do that against you know, a
guy who was top fifteen at one point, and uh,
but not not getting to talk to Joe Rogan was disheartening,
say the least.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
Two questions, did you see the fight break out backstage
before the uh the press conference?

Speaker 5 (01:03:19):
I didn't, No, you didn't, Okay, I wasn't at the
press conference.

Speaker 3 (01:03:23):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (01:03:24):
Was it just all the main card guys?

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
I think so? Yeah? I think I think I think
the press conference was just the main guys. I was
at the ceremonial Wayans, but not at the press conference.

Speaker 5 (01:03:33):
Oh okay, see I didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
Know that was it was it? Oh it was uh
DZ and Tony or it was Kevin Holland. Kevin Holland
got all right, yes, right, that's right. Maybe you know
who knows?

Speaker 5 (01:03:47):
Maybe I thought the d S team got into.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Man who knows is it all the is all the
issues at the press conferences. But uh, you know, it
also makes you wonder a little bit about the whole
Tamaia missing weight and he missed it so comfortably, like
like the way he was like you know whatever, like
and he's don't like he was sucked up at all, like, yeah,
you know, when I make weight, you know, I may wait,
like you can see in my face, you can see
to my body. Uh, and Tamia was just on the scales,

(01:04:11):
like look like he was gonna make weight, Like I mean,
obviously there was rumors that he was gonna miss wait,
but like he gets on there and he's like the
way as confident as he looked, looked like he was
a guy who was about to make weight, and he
like obviously missed by like eight pounds or whatever it is. Like,
so it makes you wonder because you know, all the
fights got switched around. So I'm so curious like if
there was any you know, background stuff going on that

(01:04:32):
we don't know about.

Speaker 5 (01:04:33):
And then the psychond part was did you already know?

Speaker 3 (01:04:35):
Did you already have what you're gonna say to Joe
Rogan planned out in your head, no note at all.

Speaker 2 (01:04:39):
I'm just gonna, you know, I was just gonna, you know,
I was just excited to talk to him. You know. Yeah,
he's just uh, just one of those guys you know
that I've listened to for a long time. You know.
I remember watching him on Fear Factor, you know, and
you know, me and my wife listen to his podcast
anytime we go on road trips, and uh, you know,
I've been a big fan of his and uh, you know,
I agree with a lot of stuff he agrees with you.

(01:05:00):
And he's just kind of a man's man, you know,
a little bit as well too, so like and obviously
he's such a huge fan of MMA, and it's like, uh,
and it could be any fan. I always want to
perform in front of fans, and so I just wanted
to impress him, you know. And I know that he
was probably impressed with that fight, but I just wanted
to talk to him afterwards about it because I knew
he was I knew he would have been like that

(01:05:20):
was an impressive showing, like and just like talk to
me about it. And you know, I never really have
anything in mind about what I want to say, after
a fight, because you never know if that's gonna happen.
You know, you want to be optimistic about it. But
I feel like when you think about those kind of things,
you can give your hopes up a little bit. So, like,
you know, I was so focused on beating Dall would do,

(01:05:40):
but I was you know, I had a lot of
things riding on it, including that, you know that that
was something small. You know, Obviously I want to win
my fight for my career. I want win my fight,
uh you know, for my paycheck. I want to win
my fight for a lot of different things. But you
know there's some small things in there, like talking to
Joe Rogan after your fight, Like that's a cool thing
to do. You know, who who whoever gets to talk
to Joe Rogan on a regular you know, not on

(01:06:02):
a regular basis, but anytime in their life, you know.
So I know he's got a bunch of fans, so
like to have the ability to do that with something
I was looking forward to and you know, hopefully maybe
I'll get to do this time down the road. But
I was happy with the performance regardless, and uh was
you know, I took it for what it.

Speaker 4 (01:06:17):
Was, all right, Julian, thank you so much. You just
spelt burning your life. Thank you so much for coming
on the podcast. So tell the audience where they can
find you. Instagram, your social media's tell them where they
can find you.

Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
Yeah, obviously, if you want to reach out to me,
my Instagram is the best way to reach out to me.
Julian Underscore Rosa. I had a previous Instagram that got
hacked and so I fo check Mark. But my new Instagram,
which I've had for a while now is Julian Underscore Rosa,
and I'm pretty good at responding back to people on
my Instagram. I don't really UH use my Facebook as much.

(01:06:53):
I have him connected to where everything I post on
Instagram goes to my Facebook. But if you really want
to reach out to me, it's my Instagram. And I
also want to take this time to thank you guys
for having me on UH the Burn Factory. And also
I always gotta shout my UH my management and Jason
Jason House and Iridium and all the guys over there,
because I feel like without them, I don't think I'd

(01:07:14):
be in the UFC right now. So obviously a shout
out to those guys and I shout out to everybody
that's watching this as well.

Speaker 5 (01:07:19):
Thank you of course for coming on too. We can't
thank you enough.

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
But as a gift for coming on the show, you
will be getting the black label edition Burn Factory hoodie where.

Speaker 5 (01:07:27):
Only guests get these only guess there, you go so
much man, with.

Speaker 2 (01:07:35):
The utmost confidence. I really appreciate you, gyme.

Speaker 4 (01:07:40):
That's gonna do it. From this episode of The Burn
Factory Podcast. Like always, like, comment and share, and.

Speaker 3 (01:07:47):
Please visit my foundation at the Priest James Foundation dot org.
Again the Priest James Foundation dot org to understand why
this is called the Burn Factory.

Speaker 2 (01:07:57):
See you guys for the next episode.

Speaker 3 (01:07:59):
All right, guys, as we're here with Juliana Rossa, who
just spelt burn in his life and now he is
the Burn Factory Podcast champion.

Speaker 2 (01:08:09):
That's the first.

Speaker 4 (01:08:10):
Many more belts coming in his way, that's for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:08:12):
But thank you so much for coming on, Julian. You
have fun. Yes, of course, man. I appreciate you guys
in your hospitality, and I really appreciate the question of
you guys asked no.

Speaker 4 (01:08:20):
We appreciate you coming on and sharing your story your
inspiration to us and you're definitely an inspiration to a
lot of people.

Speaker 2 (01:08:27):
Thank you, thank you so much. I appreciate you. Thank you, awesome,
thank you, thank you.

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Host

LaVar Arrington

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Up On Game Presents BURN FACTORY Podcast With UFC Athlete Julian Erosa "Perseverance & Dedication"