UFC Vegas 36 video: Julian Erosa wraps up slick D’Arce choke submission to finish Charles Jourdain

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

It’s probably a good idea to never count Julian Erosa out of a fight.

Despite taking the fight on just 10 days’ notice and suffering a knockdown in the second round, the always durable Erosa came storming back late in the third to wrap up a slick D’arce choke submission to finish Charles Jourdain in a catchweight fight on the UFC Vegas 36 preliminary card.

The time of the finish came at 2:56 of the third round.

“Jourdain’s a strong striker,” Erosa said while paying his opponent a compliment afterwards. “I wanted to get the fight to the ground earlier. My D’arce is pretty unstoppable. I’m super happy with it.”

There was barely any grappling exchanges at all through the first 10 minutes of the fight with Erosa and Jourdain more than happy to trade shots on the feet. Erosa seemed to get the better of the exchanges in the opening round, including one combination while breaking away from the clinch that seemingly put Jourdain on wobbly legs.

Time ran out before Erosa could truly capitalize, and that forced Jourdain to make some adjustments coming out for the second round,

On the restart, Jourdain was showing serious hand speed with his combinations, and he actually dropped Erosa to the canvas for a moment after cracking him with a hard punch. Erosa was quick to get back to his feet. But Jourdain was starting to take over with his striking arsenal.

That’s when Erosa turned the tables with a takedown in the third and then looking for another later in the round, which led to the opening where Jourdain ducked his head down and a second later the D’arce choke was applied. Once Erosa fell to the ground, he tightened up the submission and made sure his legs were locked, which meant Jourdain could not escape and was forced to tap out.

The win moves Erosa to 4-1 in his past five fights, with all four of his victories coming by way of knockout or submission as he continues to prove he’s one of the most exciting fighters on the entire UFC roster.