How a friend's wedding and a few beers brought Myles Jury back to Alliance MMA

LAS VEGAS – Two years ago, Myles Jury was among a small group of athletes who left California’s Alliance MMA to train at Arizona’s Power MMA. Ultimately, the move didn’t necessarily prove as beneficial as “Fury” had hoped.

Jury readily admits there were many factors involved in his recent career struggles. After opening up his professional run undefeated through 15 fights, back-to-back losses to Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira brought incredible frustration. Becoming a father for the first time was incredibly life-changing, as well.

In fact, the 29-year-old Jury just admits he had some growing up to do.

But after pushing his way through those challenges, a chance encounter this past September changed everything. After two years away from San Diego’s Alliance MMA, Jury was reunited with the team’s head coach, Eric Del Fierro, at Jeremy Stephens’ wedding. With the frosty beverages flowing, Jury said a conversation began.

Del Fierro said Jury (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was welcome to come back to the team whenever he wanted, and the UFC featherweight accepted the invitation, heading there almost immediately after to start his training camp for Rick Glenn (20-5-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at this past Saturday’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas.

“I flew out there the next week, and we just started training and getting it,” Jury told reporters following his UFC 219 win.

Jury looked calm and composed throughout the contest, outstriking Glenn on the feet and preventing the matchup from hitting the floor en route to a clearcut decision win. Following a two-fight losing streak and a 16-month layoff, Jury is now riding a two-fight winning streak and seems ready to resume the form he held in winning his first six UFC appearances.

“I was happy going into this fight because I worked my butt off in this camp and had a good time,” Jury said. “Whenever you come away with a victory in this game at this level, I mean, I’m happy. All good.

“There were some people that you guys wouldn’t guess unless I straight up just told you that I needed to get away from me. Look, I’m a fighter. In my mind, if I have to, I’ll train by myself and fight. As a fighter, that’s just what you do. But sometimes I’m so stubborn that I try doing (expletive) on my own, and I cut myself short. So I do really believe this is where I need to be, training with Eric and Alliance and guys like Jeremy Stephens and stuff like that.”

Jury admits he’s not terribly concerned with who he fights next. Focusing too much on what’s ahead only proved problematic in the past, Fury explains. Instead, now content again with his old team, Jury said his focus is only on preparation and performance, and he believes that will provide him all the success he desires.

“We’ll see what the UFC wants to do,” Jury said. “I’m 29 – just have some patience. I’m getting better. I’m getting stronger, and if a top-ranked opponent comes, if a title shot comes, whatever, I’m not going to chase it.

“Of course I want gold. I want the belt. I want the money. I want all that stuff. But everybody wants that, and I can’t focus on that. That (expletive) is going to come as a byproduct of me training, taking fights, me serving the UFC, me serving the fans. When I serve the people in my company, that’s wen money and everything comes back to me.”

To hear more from Jury, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC 219, check out the UFC Events section of the site.