Jalin Turner

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Jalin Turner
Jalin Turner at UFC 234.jpg
Jalin Turner at UFC 234
Born (1995-05-18) May 18, 1995 (age 29)
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Other namesThe Tarantula
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight156 lb (71 kg; 11.1 st)
Division Welterweight (2018)
Lightweight (2019-2025)
Reach77 in (196 cm) [1]
Fighting out of Fontana, California, U.S.
TeamRVCA Training Center
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [2]
Years active2016–2025
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins14
By knockout10
By submission4
Losses9
By knockout4
By submission1
By decision4
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Jalin Turner ( /ˈdʒeɪlɪn/ JAY-lin; born May 18, 1995) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional from 2016 to 2025, he also competed for Bellator MMA, the World Series of Fighting, King of the Cage, and Tachi Palace Fights.

Contents

Background

Born in San Bernardino, California, [3] [4] Turner attended Summit High School and has described that he grew up in a rough neighbourhood. In high school he was unable to play much sports such as football, basketball or track and field due to multiple injuries. [5] Having the most talent in wrestling, Turner took up the sport during the pre-season of his sophomore year, but was unable to compete that season due to a broken finger. [6] Frustrated by the recurring injuries, he started watching MMA bouts on television, which inspired him to try and practice the sport. [7] With little money as a teenager and unable to afford combat training equipment, he would run and shadow box and used his family couch as a punching bag, until he joined Team Adrenaline which kickstarted his mixed martial arts career. [7] Growing up, Turner was arachnophobic, and to overcome that fear, he began to collect tarantulas as pets. When he made his UFC debut he had 200 of them, earning his ring nickname "The Tarantula". [8] At UFC Vegas 10 Turner had his official weight taken while holding a tarantula in his left hand. [9]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling an amateur record of 5–2, Turner started his professional MMA career since 2016 and fought primarily in his home state of California. He amassed a record of 7–3, with two-fight winning streak including a technical knockout win against Noah Tillis in Bellator 192, before being signed by the UFC. [10]

In a September 2018 interview with UFC, Turner said he held a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. [11] In January 2022, Compex, a corporate sponsor, reported Jalin was a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. [12]

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series

Turner faced Max Mustaki on June 19, 2018 at Dana White's Contender Series 12, [13] winning by technical knockout in round one. [14]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Turner made his UFC debut against Vicente Luque on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229, [15] losing by knockout in the first round. [16]

In his second UFC fight Turner was scheduled to face Alex Gorgees at UFC 234. [17] However, on January 23, 2019, it was reported that Gorgees had pulled out of the fight, [18] and was replaced by Callan Potter. [19] Turner won the fight via knockout in the first round. [20]

Turner faced Matt Frevola on April 13, 2019 at UFC 236. [21] He lost the fight by unanimous decision. [22]

Turner was scheduled to face Jamie Mullarkey on February 23, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 168. [23] However Mullarkey was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury and he was replaced by Joshua Culibao. [24] Turner won the fight via TKO in the second round. [25]

Turner was scheduled to face Thiago Moisés on September 5, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 176. [26] However, on September 5, 2020, Moisés tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout against Turner was cancelled. [27] In turn, Turner was quickly rescheduled and faced Brok Weaver on September 12, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 177. [28] After knocking Weaver down multiple times, Turner won the fight via a rear–naked choke submission in round two. [29]

In January 2024, Turner attained his highest ranking at #9 in the UFC lightweight division. [30]

Turner faced Uroš Medić on September 25, 2021 at UFC 266. [31] He won the fight via rear naked choke in round one. [32]

Turner faced Jamie Mullarkey on March 5, 2022 at UFC 272. [33] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. [34]

Turner faced Brad Riddell on July 2, 2022, at UFC 276. [35] He won the bout via guillotine choke submission less than a minute into the contest. [36] This win earned him a Performance of the Night award. [37]

Turner was scheduled to face Dan Hooker on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. [38] However, Hooker was forced to withdraw from the event, citing a hand injury, [39] and he was replaced by Mateusz Gamrot. [40] In a closely contested bout where Gamrot employed his wrestling to combat Turner's reach advantage, Turner lost by split decision. [41]

Turner faced Dan Hooker on July 8, 2023 at UFC 290. [42] At the weigh-ins Turner weighed in at 158 pounds, 2 pounds over the non-title lightweight limit. As a result, the bout proceeded as a catchweight and Turner was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to Hooker. [43] In a back and forth bout, Turner came out losing the bout via split decision. [44]

Turner stepped in on one week's notice to face Bobby Green on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52, as a replacement for an injured Dan Hooker. [45] He won the fight via knockout in the first round. [46] This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award. [47]

Turner faced Renato Moicano on April 13, 2024, at UFC 300. [48] Despite scoring an early knockdown, Turner lost the fight via TKO in the second round. [49]

Turner faced Ignacio Bahamondes on March 8, 2025 at UFC 313. [50] He lost the fight via a triangle choke submission in the round. [51] After the bout, he left his gloves in the middle of the octagon and retired from mixed martial arts competition. [52]

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
23 matches14 wins9 losses
By knockout104
By submission41
By decision04
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss14–9 Ignacio Bahamondes Submission (triangle choke) UFC 313 March 8, 202512:29 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss14–8 Renato Moicano TKO (elbows and punches) UFC 300 April 13, 202424:11 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win14–7 Bobby Green KO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan December 2, 202312:49 Austin, Texas, United StatesPerformance of the Night.
Loss13–7 Dan Hooker Decision (split) UFC 290 July 8, 202335:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesCatchweight (158 lb) bout; Turner missed weight.
Loss13–6 Mateusz Gamrot Decision (split) UFC 285 March 4, 202335:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win13–5 Brad Riddell Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 276 July 2, 202210:45 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesPerformance of the Night.
Win12–5 Jamie Mullarkey TKO (punches) UFC 272 March 5, 202220:46 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win11–5 Uroš Medić Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 266 September 25, 202114:01 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win10–5 Brok Weaver Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill September 12, 202024:20 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesCatchweight (165 lb) bout.
Win9–5 Joshua Culibao TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker February 23, 202023:01 Auckland, New Zealand
Loss8–5 Matt Frevola Decision (unanimous) UFC 236 April 13, 201935:00 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win8–4 Callan Potter TKO (punches) UFC 234 February 10, 201910:53 Melbourne, AustraliaReturn to Lightweight.
Loss7–4 Vicente Luque KO (punches) UFC 229 October 6, 201813:52 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesWelterweight debut.
Win7–3Max MustakiTKO (doctor stoppage) Dana White's Contender Series 12 July 10, 201815:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win6–3Noah TillisTKO (punches) Bellator 192 January 20, 201811:12 Inglewood, California, United States
Win5–3Vytautas SadauskasSubmission (triangle choke)KOTC: Never QuitSeptember 2, 201711:39 Ontario, California, United States
Loss4–3Richard LeRoyTKO (punches)CXF 8: Cali KingsJune 17, 201734:18 Burbank, California, United States
Win4–2Paradise VaovasaKO (knee to the body) Tachi Palace Fights 31 May 18, 201711:30 Lemoore, California, United States
Win3–2 Gabriel Green KO (punches) Bellator 170 January 21, 201710:36 Inglewood, California, United States
Loss2–2Andrew LagdaanDecision (split)SMASH Global 4September 15, 201635:00 Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss2–1Ronnie BorjaKO (punches)California Fight League 8July 30, 201610:11 Victorville, California, United States
Win2–0Adrian AjolezaTKO (body kick)BAMMA Badbeat 20June 10, 201614:55 Commerce, California, United StatesCatchweight (160 lb) bout.
Win1–0Eric SteansKO (punch) WSOF 28 February 20, 201610:32 Garden Grove, California, United StatesLightweight debut.

[54]

References

  1. ↑ "Jalin Turner | UFC". www.ufc.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  2. ↑ "Jalin Turner - Compex Athlete". www.compex.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  3. ↑ Kyte, E. Spencer (2023-11-30). "Jalin Turner: 'It's Just Business' | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2025-03-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ "Jalin Turner ("The Tarantula") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
  5. ↑ "UFC newcomer Jalin Turner fights out of and for San Bernardino". San Bernardino Sun. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  6. ↑ DeSantis, Michael (2018-07-06). "Jalin Turner: From Backyard Training to Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series". MMASucka.com. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  7. 1 2 Medcalf, Myron (2019-04-11). "Meet Jalin Turner, the tarantula-collecting lightweight ready to break through at UFC 236". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  8. ↑ "Meet Jalin Turner, the tarantula-collecting lightweight ready to break through at UFC 236". ESPN MMA. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ Kaplan, Amy (2020-09-11). "Jalin Turner brought an actual tarantula to the scale for his UFC Vegas 10 weigh-in". Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  10. ↑ "Jalin Turner". sherdog.com. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Jalin Turner | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  12. ↑ "Jalin Turner - Compex Athlete". 2022-01-25. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  13. ↑ "Max Mustaki vs. Jalin Turner Slated for Contender Series". MMA Today. 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-24.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. ↑ "DWTNCS: Jalin Turner predicts his seventh career first-round finish". FanSided. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  15. ↑ Tristen Critchfield (2018-09-23). "Welterweights Vicente Luque, Jalin Turner added to UFC 229 lineup on Oct. 6". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  16. ↑ "UFC 229 play-by-play and live results". MMAjunkie. 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  17. ↑ "Exclusive: Alex Gorgees vs. Jalin Turner set for UFC 234". MMA Today. 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2019-04-24.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ Bitter, Shawn (2019-01-23). "Alex Gorgees Out of his UFC 234 Bout With Jalin Turner". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  19. ↑ "Regional Veteran Callan Potter Will Face Jalin Turner At UFC 234". www.flocombat.com. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  20. ↑ "UFC 234 results: Jalin Turner makes quick work of Callan Potter with 53-second KO". MMA Junkie. 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  21. ↑ DNA, MMA (13 March 2019). "Gevecht tussen Jalin Turner en Matt Frevola toegevoegd voor UFC 236 in Atlanta" . Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  22. ↑ "UFC 236 results: Matt Frevola grinds way past Jalin Turner for clean sweep". MMA Junkie. 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  23. ↑ DNA, MMA (26 December 2019). "Jamie Mullarkey vs. Jalin Turner toegevoegd aan UFC Auckland" . Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  24. ↑ "Joshua Culibao signs with UFC; set to debut at UFC Auckland – Fight News Australia". 6 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  25. ↑ Bitter, Shawn (February 22, 2020). "UFC Auckland Results: Jalin Turner Pounds Out Newcomer Joshua Culibao in Second Round". Cage Side Press. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  26. ↑ DNA, MMA (2020-08-05). "Thiago Moises vs. Jalin Turner toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 5 september". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  27. ↑ Ana Hissa (2020-09-05). "Thiago Moisés tests positive for COVID-19 and his bout against Jailin Turner is cancelled". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.(in Portuguese)
  28. ↑ Farah Hannoun (2020-09-10). "With Frank Camacho out, Jalin Turner targeted to face Brok Weaver at UFC on ESPN+ 35". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  29. ↑ Evanoff, Josh (2020-09-12). "UFC Vegas 10 Results: Jalin Turner Dominates, Finishes Brok Weaver". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  30. ↑ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". Archived from the original on 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-08-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ↑ DNA, MMA (2021-05-23). "Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner toegevoegd aan UFC 266 op 4 september". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  32. ↑ Anderson, Jay (2021-09-25). "UFC 266 Results: Jalin Turner Becomes First to Defeat, Submit Uros Medic". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  33. ↑ Coffey, Lara (2022-01-07). "MULLARKEY TO TAKE ON JALIN TURNER IN MARCH | NBN News". www.nbnnews.com.au. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  34. ↑ McClory, Mike (2022-03-05). "UFC 272: Jalin Turner Looks Strong In Second-Round TKO of Jamie Mullarkey". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  35. ↑ Anderson, Jay (2022-05-16). "Jalin Turner vs. Brad Riddell Set for July's UFC 276". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  36. ↑ Anderson, Jay (2022-07-02). "UFC 276: Jalin Turner Jumps on Early Guillotine Against Brad Riddell". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  37. 1 2 Alexander K. Lee (2022-07-02). "UFC 276 bonuses: Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler brawl wins Fight of the Night, three fast finishes rewarded". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  38. ↑ ATSteveDuncan (2023-01-24). "Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner agregado a UFC 285". MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  39. ↑ Calhoun, Curtis (2023-02-08). "[UPDATE] Dan Hooker Out Of UFC 285 Bout Against Jalin Turner". MMA News. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  40. ↑ Zane Simon (2023-02-14). "Report: Mateusz Gamrot replaces Dan Hooker, fights Jalin Turner at UFC 285". bloodyelbow.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  41. ↑ Rush, Dylan (4 March 2023). "UFC 285: Mateusz Gamrot's Wrestling Carries Him Past Jalin Turner". Cageside Press. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  42. ↑ Nolan King (2023-04-21). "UFC 290 adds Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price, Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  43. ↑ "UFC 290 weigh-in results: Two title fights set, Jalin Turner misses weight". www.mmafighting.com. 7 July 2023.
  44. ↑ Morehouse, Cade (2023-07-08). "UFC 290: Bloodied Dan Hooker Emerges Victorious Following Three-Round War with Jalin Turner". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  45. ↑ "Jalin Turner replaces Dan Hooker, meets Bobby Green at UFC on ESPN 52". MMA Junkie. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  46. ↑ "UFC on ESPN 52 results: Referee permits Jalin Turner to bludgeon Bobby Green in elongated stoppage". Yahoo Sports. 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  47. 1 2 Chris Taylor (2023-12-02). "UFC Austin Bonus Report: 10 fighters take home $50k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  48. ↑ Anderson, Jay (2024-03-10). "Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner Announced for UFC 300". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  49. ↑ Dewar, Val (2024-04-14). "UFC 300: Renato Moicano Overcomes Knockdown, Ground n' Pounds Jalin Turner to Victory". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  50. ↑ Curtis Calhoun (2025-02-14). "UFC 313 gets a last-second boost after two exciting lightweights added to pay-per-view card". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  51. ↑ Eddie Law (2025-03-08). "Igancio Bahamondes Grabs R1 Triangle Finish Over Turner". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  52. ↑ Jordan Ellis (2025-03-08). "'I'm done'… 29-year-old contender appears to retire after shock submission defeat at UFC 313". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
  53. ↑ UFC Staff (23 December 2023). "THE FIGHTS - THE 2023 UFC.COM AWARDS". Ultimate Fighting Championship .
  54. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Jalin". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
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