Julio
Arce had a lot of pressure to deliver going into his
UFC Atlantic City bout against Herbert
Burns, and deliver he did.
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Arce scored a second-round KO win over Burns in his first bout
since November 2022. Arce’s return was delayed when he was forced
out of a UFC 285 booking against Cody
Garbrandt in January 2023 due to an ACL tear that required
surgery.
With the undeniable jitters of coming back from an injury already
in his mind, Arce also had a bizarre weight miss. Arce initially
weighed in at 147 pounds, a pound over the non-title featherweight
limit, and was given an hour to shed the extra weight. While Arce
claims to have tried his best to sweat it out, he miraculously
gained half a pound the second time he weighed in. However, Arce
doesn’t want to make any excuses about the odd weight miss and vows
to make weight in future.
“I got on the scale, it said 147, we had an hour,” Arce said during
a post-fight media scrum. “Because I know like here I
guess they cut it now, so it’s from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Checked on
scales, 147, they gave me an hour, I came back and then when I came
back they said I was heavier. I mean, we were sweating and we were
doing… But regardless no excuse. I missed weight and it’s
unprofessional of me. And I’m gonna correct that, adjust it. I’m
not gonna really make any excuses for it. I come back, we do it
better and then we take a run at 145.”
Since starting his UFC journey in 2018 with back-to-back wins,
Arce’s career graph has consistently gone up and down. Added to the
pressure of the weight miss was the fact that the Burns booking was
the last fight on Arce’s UFC contract. And Arce was glad to have
delivered an emphatic win, which he believes was imperative.
“You know it always messes with your head when you make that one
mistake,” he said. “Especially when it comes to the weight cut
because you’re like, ‘Damn.’ That gets to your mind, like, ‘I
didn’t make weight.’ But to me I’m like, look this was the last
fight on my contract and want to keep going. I want to take a run
at this because I know I got what it takes and guess what, I’m
like, ‘Go out there and show out. Leave it all in there, that’s
it.’ And what a better way to do it than to get a finish, second
round.”
Arce revealed that he drew inspiration from his father’s battle
with Stage 4 cancer heading into UFC Atlantic City.
“I don’t really mention this to anybody, but I know people are
going through a lot [of] tough times. You know my dad is fighting
Stage 4 cancer and it’s not easy. Told my coaches that… using it as
my fire and I know if he’s fighting that fight, I got to win this
fight. Because that’s not easy. And to anybody out there who is
going through a tough time, stand your ground, keep going, don’t
give up, keep your head up and just fight on, fight on. That’s it.”