While the coronavirus pandemic had its difficulties for Bellator lightweight Myles Jury in terms of hampering his activity level in 2020, he nonetheless persevered and picked up back-to-back wins, getting him off a three-fight skid in the process.
When it comes to his decision victories over Brandon Girtz in February and Georgi Karakhanyan in August of last year, Jury was glad the gym time he put in paid off with strong performances in his wins.
“It was different, but I’m grateful for (2020),” Jury told MMAWeekly.com. “I spent a lot of time with my family, I got to get in the cage and perform, got a couple wins, made some money and stayed healthy. 2020 was a blessing.
“I felt good (in my fights). I feel like there’s always something to be taken away from fights, but overall I put the work in, came in prepared, and did the best I could on fight night. That’s all I could really ask for.”
Jury feels like was also able to make progress in his game over the past year and is a better fighter now than he was before his last fight.
“I feel like I’ve gotten better over this last year,” said Jury. “I put in more work. Life’s about learning each day, you learn something new, and here we are a year later and I feel good.
“I usually talk to my coaches and asked what looked good, what didn’t, checking with them and kind of going from there. I can definitely stay very tough on myself. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten away from that, so I listen to what my coaches say and put in the work.”
On June 25 in Uncasville, Connecticut, Jury (19-5( will look to pick up his third win in a row when he takes on Sidney Outlaw (15-4) in a preliminary 155-pound bout at Bellator 261.
“He’s a great competitor,” Jury said of Outlaw. “I feel he’s a good grappler, and is good all-around, but he’s most comfortable with the grappling, but I’m better all-around. I’ve just got to go out there, be myself and take what’s mine. I’ve got to do my thing and have a great performance.”
While Jury would like to see opportunities open up for him over the remainder of 2021, he’s choosing to put his attention to the things he can directly impact.
“The older I get I realize the stars all need to align,” said Jury. “I’m hoping for that. A lot of that stuff I don’t have control over, so I focus on what I can control. And that’s it. We’ll see what happens after this fight.”