Former UFC heavyweight Juan Adams wants to make his way back to the promotion to right some wrongs — and he views his first run in the company as a failure.
“The Kraken” picked up a heavyweight title win at Fury FC 49 on August 28 against Richard Odoms. He dominated Odoms for three rounds and ended up winning via doctor stoppage.
Adams (8-3) was proud of his performance.
“I thought it was really good, very dominant. [Odoms] was a guy that had fought all over the world. He fought Jeff Hughes, who is in the UFC, and he beat him 50-45. I made the fight look significantly less competitive, I finished the guy, and I took way less damage. So, I’m very happy with that performance, and I thought the ref let it go on much longer than it needed to,” Adams told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview.
The win over Odoms was Adams’ third win in a span of three months. He finished Jeremy Hardy in May and then Eric Lunsford in July, both in the first round.
Adams was released from the UFC in 2020 after going 1-3 in the promotion. The release hit the 29-year old heavyweight hard, mostly because he sees his time in the promotion as a failure.
“It’s one of the only things in life that I’ve done that I still view as a failure for me. Going 1-3 really damaged my ego a lot, and as much as I try and live outside of my ego, it still burns me. Every time someone says, ‘oh, you fought in the UFC, or hey, I remember you from your time in the UFC, like, that feeling or the connotation of failure accompanies it,” Adams said. “If I were to go back, it would be about evening out my record. The way I see it, I need to go back and win at least two fights in the UFC. That’s what I need to do.”
If Adams keeps winning, a trip back to the UFC could be in the future, especially because the UFC always needs heavyweights.
For the immediate future, another fight is coming his way. He has said that he has signed a contract to defined his newly won title, now he is just waiting for someone to accept, which he says is a headache because so many people turn down fights.
You can watch the rest of the interview with Juan Adams above, where he speaks about finding the love to fight again, his 2020, depression, and what he wants next.
