'The Kraken' Stays Busy In Fury FC, Keeps His Eyes On The Prize
It’s been 18 months since Juan Adams’ last fight in the UFC, 31 days since his last MMA bout and four days until his next.
“The Kraken” has stayed as busy as he can since his departure from the UFC.
“I kind of sat in my sadness for like two or three days and then I resolved that I was going to make it back,” Adams recalls. “I already did it once faster than anyone thought I could. I’ll just do something else no one thinks I can do. That’s my mindset.”
In under a round, Adams handed Jeremy Hardy a TKO loss. One month later, Adams’ second appearance in Fury FC was cancelled. He took the cancellation in stride and returned July 25 to earn his first career submission victory over kickboxing specialist Eric Lunsford.
Just over a month after his win at Fury FC 48, he’s scheduled for a main event bout with 14-4 Richard Odoms.
Since his contract wasn’t renewed in the UFC, there have been zero public complaints, zero demands. Even after his dominant first-round victories in the past three months you’ve never heard a plea to the UFC.
“I know it will happen in time,” Adams said with confidence. “They know who I am already. A lot of guys will say, ‘hey, don’t forget about me!’ I know I’m not forgotten about. I know if I keep going out and putting on performances, I’ll get the opportunities. I’ll either be on their radar or knock someone out that’s on their radar.”
The fulfillment of his new career has been more than enough to keep himself content. Working in behavioral healthcare for children’s trauma rehabilitation has put plenty of things in perspective for Adams; he’s even taken a couple punches at work.
“I realized that being a caretaker of others and giving back to people and giving back to this world and trying to make the world better small steps at a time is really what I find my deepest purpose is,” Adams said. “It’s my higher calling. Through that I find that as long as I’m doing that and living in my purpose, the rest of the things are going to come as they come.”
It’s that exact mind state that has helped Adams avoid making mistakes that others in his position have made when they part ways with the UFC.
“A lot of fighters don’t truly process what happened,” Adams explains. “They think, ‘let’s just go back out there let’s get the next check, let’s do whatever.’ I took a whole year off and reassessed where I was at mentally. I got with a therapist and a psychiatrist and we tried all kinds of different things. I did a lot of mental development on my own and I found purpose for everything outside of fighting.”
At only 29 years old, with UFC experience and massive improvement every fight, it would appear Adams’ new outlook just may be what it takes to get back to the UFC. Until then, however, it’s Fury FC on his mind.
Catch the return of Juan Adams on Sunday, August 29, as he shares the cage with heavyweight veteran Richard Odoms in the main event of Fury FC 49, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
