Issue 109
December 2013
With a 13-0 MMA record, Myles ‘Fury’ Jury is one of the brightest rising stars among UFC lightweights. Here he reveals to FO how once being poverty stricken keeps him driven to achieve all his career and personal ambitions – including learning to dance
In Myles Jury’s bedroom hangs a board of goals. A small reminder of how far he has come and how much more he still has to accomplish.
He prints his personal ambitions off in a neat, orderly fashion and pins them up in a large, easily visible font. Some are annual goals, a quick glimpse into what he would like to accomplish each calendar year. Others are more expansive, looking at what he would like to accomplish in five years, 10 years and beyond.
Before his last bout, a close decision victory over Mike Ricci at UFC 165, the board read: “By training hard, dedicating and sacrificing myself, I will destroy Mike Ricci on September 21.”
After every fight he re-evaluates the goals, updating the out-of-date ones and reminding himself of the rest. Mixed martial arts is a major part of his goal board, but as in life it’s not everything. As important as the fight business is, there is much more to his complex life.
“My one-year goals (for 2013) were to get another fight in the UFC, continue to live the MMA lifestyle, get a surfboard, talk to Joe Silva about fighting, and stay true to my friends and my family,” explains Jury. “I think another one was to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. I even have one to do a dance class. I’m not sure where that one came from, but I’d like to do a dance class (laughs).”
Nowhere on Jury’s board of goals does it say “become a champion” or “be famous.” Although being a great fighter and eventually a champion is obviously something he would like to accomplish, he is in no rush to reach the limelight. An introvert by nature, he prefers the subtle pleasures of friends and family to interacting through social media when he’s not in the gym.
“When I have friends over, they come into my room and the first thing they do is start reading my walls and I’m like, ‘Damn, this is really personal.’”
As is the story with so many fighters’ lives, it has not been an easy road for Jury. Taking menial jobs, he struggled to get by while finding the time to train regularly.
“I spent from 13 years of age to 22 with hardly any money, shacked up in little houses with a bunch of my friends, staying at people’s houses on their couches. When you’re like that, you know what it’s like to be at the bottom. You know what it’s like to not be able to do what you want with your life because of no opportunities. But I have belief in myself, so I kept training.”
Things appeared to be looking up when Jury made The Ultimate Fighter 13 cast. It was unquestionably the biggest opportunity of his young career and appeared as though it would be his launching pad towards success. That was until the first episode when he tore his ACL and was subsequently forced off the show.
“That was a really rough year for me,” he recalls. “After I tore my ACL, I literally got sent home and cut from the UFC before I’d even fought for the UFC. I had no money, and not only did I not have money, I couldn’t even train or fight. I had to sit back for a year and rehabilitate my leg. I guess you could say I was feeling sorry for myself, but honestly, it was a time to figure it all out. Figure out what I wanted. I could have gone home but I stayed true to myself and stayed true to trying to accomplish my dreams.”
As fate would have it, the ACL tear may have been a blessing in disguise. Although he had to spend a year away from the sport, it resulted in him having another opportunity on The Ultimate Fighter. He returned for The Ultimate Fighter 15 and was chosen first on Dominick Cruz’s team. He didn’t win the show, losing a split decision to Al Iaquinta, but the relationship with Cruz has been a lasting one. Had he not torn his ACL and been pulled from his original stint on TUF, there’s no telling in what direction Jury’s career may have gone.
Jury now trains and lives in California, working with Cruz and the Alliance Training Center full-time. He has settled into the West Coast lifestyle and his kicked-back attitude and easy-going personality mesh well with the Californian vibe. His longtime aim of training martial arts full-time reinforces his chilled state of mind.
“I thought about that (doing MMA as a career) as soon as I started martial arts, training in jiu-jitsu,” he says. “I kind of didn’t see where I was heading in this world, but I could see myself just kicking back and doing jiu-jitsu, teaching, training for the rest of my life.”
Although only 25, Jury has shown a maturity and focus throughout his career that few possess. He has a calmness in the cage that allows him to use his skills properly and stay relaxed in precarious positions.
“The comfort is just from all the experiences in my life,” he explains. “I’ve been through a lot of downs, definitely more downs than ups. With being down and in crappy situations, you learn knowledge and wisdom. When I’m in that cage, it’s a scary thing. It’s crazy, an adrenaline rush. But I know in my heart that no matter what happens, it’s not going to change who I am because of all the experiences I’ve been through and all the work I’ve put in. That gives me the opportunity to really sit back and enjoy it.”
Now 4-0 in the UFC and 13-0 in his mixed martial arts career, Jury is well on his way to becoming a lightweight contender. Still flying under people’s radars due to his quiet personality, it seems only a matter of time before fans and fighters are forced to take notice of the budding superstar.
“I feel like people don’t talk about me as much because I’m thinking long-term on my career,” he says. “I could easily get on the internet and start calling people out. I could easily create drama, because people like drama, but I wouldn’t be staying true to myself. That’s one of the biggest things: staying true to myself. I’m not going to change in order to get people to talk about me or follow me or get more popular. I’m not trying to be in a high school popularity contest.”
