UFC heavyweight Juan Adams will throw down in his own back yard when he takes on Justin Tafa in Houston this February.
Juan Adams was last seen suffering the second loss of his pro career against Greg Hardy. However Tuesday, ‘The Kraken’ announced his return to the cage. That will come against Australia’s Justin Tafa at the UFC’s February 8, 2020 event in Houston, TX.
Adams, a Houston native, unveiled the news himself on the Beyond the Cage podcast.
“Just signed the agreement, I’m fighting Justin Tafa on the Houston card February 8,” said Adams, who is now training with Jackson-Wink MMA.
While the February 8 event has not been officially announced by the UFC, several fights for the card have been reported. It is expected that the card will be a PPV, which would make it UFC 247.
Adams (5-2) came into the UFC off Dana White’s Contender Series with a big head of steam behind him. After earning a debut win against Chris de la Rocha at UFC on FOX 31, however, Adams dropped two straight — first to Indo-Canadian Arjan Bhullar, who has since moved on to ONE Championship, then to Hardy.
The Hardy fight was a bitter pill to swallow, as it was a fight Adams campaigned for, rather vocally. “That last fight wasn’t bad judging. It could have been a questionable referee’s decision, but at the end of the day, I still took that shot, I didn’t follow directions, and you can’t dispute that I lost that fight,” he said of his last outing, where Hardy finished him by a TKO. Hence the move to Jackson-Wink, he added, in the hopes of stopping his skid.
Justin Tafa (3-1) made his debut in the UFC earlier this year in a losing effort against Yorgan De Castro. The 25-year-old Australian, billed as a protege of Mark Hunt, will be fighting for the first time in the U.S. when he throws down with Adams.
No main event has yet to be announced for the Houston card.
