Juan Adams Wyatt Thomas interview on BKB title and UFC regrets

The Juan Adams Wyatt Thomas interview for MILLIONS covered Adams’s pursuit of a BKB super heavyweight title, why he feels he was not ready for his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) opportunity, and his hope of returning to MMA. He told Thomas that the title-shot opponent is known, but the fight does not have a confirmed date.

How did Juan Adams get into MMA and reach the UFC and PFL?

Juan Adams got into MMA through wrestling: he began helping fighters at a Houston gym adapt his wrestling style, then started sparring so he could teach them more effectively. After college, he chose an amateur fight over waiting for another National Football League (NFL) opportunity, beginning a path through Legacy Fighting Alliance, the Contender Series, the UFC and the Professional Fighters League (PFL).

Wrestling at Virginia Military Institute

Adams said he was competitive growing up but, as the big kid, could not really fight. He liked Power Rangers and action films before finding wrestling in high school. He took fifth in the state and earned All-American honors at the Disney Duels, which helped him secure a preferred walk-on opportunity at Virginia Military Institute. He said he later earned a scholarship.

An injury cost him football offers, and he realized he did not like football as much as wrestling. At the Houston MMA gym where he helped coach over summers, he received a free membership in exchange for working with its wrestling program. Other fighters thought his approach could work in MMA; sparring began as a way to learn how to pass it on.

From an NFL tryout to the Contender Series

Near the end of his mother’s battle with cancer, Adams tried an NFL opportunity after teams contacted his college wrestling coach. He said he needed money for bills but still did not enjoy football. Having reached about 320 pounds while training for that opportunity, he accepted an amateur fight partly to see whether he could bring his weight down.

Adams said he held an amateur title a year after his first fight, then turned professional and received a four-fight Legacy Fighting Alliance contract. After his third fight there, Nick Maynard discussed putting him on the Contender Series. Adams won on that show and went on to the UFC. He said outside pressures affected him during his UFC run, that he made similar mistakes in the PFL, and that MMA offers eventually stopped coming.

What did Juan Adams say about his BKB super heavyweight title shot?

Juan Adams said he is pursuing a BKB super heavyweight title fight and knows who the opponent would be, but no date has been set. He wants to return to MMA as he loses weight, yet considers the BKB opportunity his immediate priority because it could make him the promotion’s first super heavyweight champion.

The move from Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship to BKB

When MMA offers stopped, Adams went to a local Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) tryout. He said BKFC offered him a heavyweight fight, which he won. BKB then offered him the chance to compete at heavyweight, super heavyweight or both while still allowing him to fight MMA. He considered that the better opportunity.

At the time, Adams was teaching and struggling with depression. He said his weight had risen to about 380 pounds and that he was unhealthy, but he still wanted to fight. Seeing himself on television after a win prompted him to start losing weight. Three BKB fights later, he said, details of a title shot remained to be finalized.

A title fight without a confirmed date

Adams said an end-of-June or early-July window had been floated, but there had been no progress toward setting the fight. Although he knows the prospective opponent, he did not name that person. For now, he said, pursuing the belt means becoming more disciplined and giving the opportunity his full attention before an MMA return.

Why is Juan Adams’s Contender Series win his favorite career moment?

Juan Adams named his Contender Series win as the moment he remembers most fondly, with his UFC debut a close second. His mother had recently died when he reached the Contender Series, and he saw the win as a way to honor his family’s sacrifices and show what their support had made possible.

Family at the Contender Series and in Milwaukee

Adams said his younger brother and other family members were there for the Contender Series fight. His family had made sacrifices even while he was on scholarship at Virginia Military Institute, because studying half a country away remained financially difficult. The win felt to him like those efforts had come together.

His UFC debut mattered for a related reason: Adams said he thought his whole family made it to Milwaukee. Seeing his name on television also made people who believed in him proud. He looks back on that period with mixed feelings, however, because he believes he was not ready for the UFC and squandered part of the experience.

How has Juan Adams’s mindset changed between the UFC and bare-knuckle fighting?

Juan Adams said his fight strategy changes with the discipline, but the deeper change is in why he competes. Earlier fights carried fear about his legacy and future, not fear of an opponent. Now he says he fights because he enjoys it and is grateful to be paid for something he loves.

Fighting no longer carries his entire identity, Adams said. Rather than treating each opponent as the only challenge, he sees a fight as a way to confront whatever is weighing on him in life at that moment. Adams described what stepping into a ring means to him now:

it's a chance to compete against whatever I feel like is holding me back in that moment

That outlook shapes how he discusses the BKB title shot. He wants the belt and recognizes what it could mean for him, while keeping open his longer-term ambition to compete in MMA again. He said he had not expected a few super heavyweight fights to lead to a chance at a new title.

What does Juan Adams do outside fighting?

Juan Adams performs stand-up comedy, reads science fiction and fantasy, and sings karaoke. He told Wyatt Thomas that these interests have given him room to explore life outside sports after years of concentrating on competition. He also enjoys learning about how drinks are brewed and distilled, and has been exploring different kinds of music.

Stand-up and books on the road

Adams said he has headlined a few comedy shows and tries to visit an open mic in whatever city he is in, using new audiences to test jokes. He reads when he can and often listens to audiobooks when he cannot sit down with a physical book. Science fiction and fantasy are particular favorites.

Karaoke, music and the science of drinks

Friends who work as karaoke DJs helped draw him into singing, and he said he is often at venues connected to sponsors anyway. His current favorite to sing is Lay Me Down, which he described as a John Legend and Sam Smith duet. He also named Teddy Swims’s Lose Control, Walking in Memphis, John Legend’s Ordinary People and Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud.

Adams said his interest in alcohol includes the science behind brewing and distillation, particularly how changes in the process affect taste. He has also begun actively seeking out unfamiliar music rather than simply saving songs he happens to hear.

What does Juan Adams eat and drink after a fight?

Juan Adams said he wants an ice cream sundae and nachos after a fight camp and a win. For drinks, he named a cosmopolitan followed by an old-fashioned. The choices reflect the break from making weight and maintaining the discipline he described during camp, rather than a routine he said he follows after every fight.

He favors ice cream with additions such as cookie dough or brownie pieces and said he particularly likes sweets. Nachos are another food he looks forward to once a fight is over.

Adams said shots are often being passed around by the time he has had the two cocktails. His interest in what he drinks also extends beyond celebrating: he likes comparing different types of alcohol and understanding how they are made.

Who is Juan Adams?

Juan Adams is an American mixed martial arts fighter who competes in the heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Professional Fighters League.