Juan “The Kraken” Adams will take on Justin Tafa in a heavyweight showdown at UFC 247 on February 9th. This fight night takes place in the Toyota Center, Houston, Texas. The card features two title bouts including headliners Jon Jones v Dominick Reyes. Taking the co-main event slot is women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko vs #1 ranked contender Katlyn Chookagian.

Born in Houston, Texas, Juan Adams (5-2) gets the opportunity to right the wrong in his hometown. He’ll look to bounce back from a disappointing 2019, where he suffered back-to-back defeats to Arjan Bhullar and Greg Hardy. Fight fans were first introduced to Adams in 2018 on Season 2 of ‘Dana White’s Contender Series’ when he stormed through Shawn Teed in round one, earning Adams the well deserved UFC contract. Fast-forward five months and Adams was making his official UFC debut, taking on Chris De La Rocha and successfully taking him out in round three. Adams is known for his great wrestling credentials and has a strong background in wrestling. However, all nine of his wins from the amateur ranks to professional ranks have came by knockout.

His opponent in Justin Tafa (4-1) who fights out of Brisbane, Australia. Tafa, nicknamed the “The Badman”, is a newcomer to the bright lights of the UFC. Tafa made his UFC debut back in October of 2019 at UFC 245. His debut saw him take his first professional loss to Yorgan De Castro in a sold out Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. Win or lose, “The Badman” has yet to go past the second round as a professional mixed martial arts fighter.

There’s one thing I can almost guarantee with this matchup going by history, it will not be going the distance. These heavyweight competitors posses to much power in their hands. One clean shot and it’s game over.

You’re currently facing back to back losses which is something you’ve not faced yet in your career. How important is it for you to bounce back with a win vs Tafa and have you took the losses as a learning experience?

Juan Adams – “I feel like this fight is crucial for my future inside the promotion. I view it as a learning experience in defeat and I will handle all future results in better ways.”

How has this camp been for you, what’s your training schedule been like and have you switched anything up since your previous fight with Hardy?

Juan Adams – “I have switched to training at Jackson Wink Academy in Albuquerque. In addition to class schedule I now get 3 private sessions a week with Coach Winklejohn and 2 with Coach Jackson. I train 2 classes and either 2 privates or a private and a cardio workout daily.”

You first came on to the radar in 2018 on DWCS with a fantastic win and went on to win your UFC debut. Can you explain what that whole process was like and what it means to you to be fighting under the promotion?

Juan Adams – “For me, fighting under the promotion is my path to changing my station in life. My mother has had to sacrifice a lot to give me the opportunities that I had and I want to be able to provide those same opportunities for my future family as well as others in the future. Fighting for this promotion will help change my life.”

How do you view Justin Tafa as an opponent and where do you see his biggest threat?

Juan Adams – “I view Tafa as a keen and eager opponent. He has good power and is the first true southpaw I will face. His use of head position as well as the ability to create knockouts from either side are his biggest threats.”

I’d like to thank Juan for the time on this article and wish him all the best on his upcoming bout.

Below are Juan’s Social media accounts to support.

Facebook – KrakenMMA

Twitter – @ChosenJuan285

Instagram – chosenjuan285

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