Jalin Turner (born 18 May 1995) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who currently competes in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

division of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional since 2016, he has also competed for Bellator MMA, the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

, and

Tachi Palace Fights Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman. Regarded as a regional promotion, ...

. As of October 24, 2022, he is #10 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Background

Born in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

, Turner went on to attend Summit High School, where he was unable to play much sports such as football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

due to multiple injuries. Having the most talent in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, 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. Frustrated by the recurring injuries, he started watching

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

bouts on television, which inspired him to try and practice the sport. 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 A punching bag (or, British English, punchbag) is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical, and filled with various materials of suitable hardness. History Punching bags have been used in martial ar ...

, until he joined Team Adrenaline which kickstarted his mixed martial arts career.

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 knock out win against Noah Tillis in Bellator 192, before signed by UFC.

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contention Series

Turner faced Max Mustaki on June 19, 2018 at Dana White's Contender Series 12. He won the fight technical knockout in round one.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Turner made his UFC debut against

Vicente Luque Vicente Luque (born November 27, 1991) is an American and Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, he is #9 in the UF ...

on October 6, 2018 at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United St ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. In his second UFC fight Turner was scheduled to face Alex Gorgees at

UFC 234 ''UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 10, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship b ...

. However, on January 23, 2019, it was reported that Gorgees had pulled out of the fight, and was replaced by

Callan Potter Callan Potter (born 6 September 1984) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Potter compiled a pr ...

. Turner won the fight via knockout in the first round. Turner faced

Matt Frevola Matthew Kenneth Frevola (born June 11, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also competed for th ...

on April 13, 2019 at

UFC 236 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest M ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Turner was scheduled to face

Jamie Mullarkey Jamie Mullarkey (born 17 August 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Mullarkey grew up in Central Coast area, attending Erina High School. He beg ...

on February 23, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland ...

. However Mullarkey was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury and he was replaced by Joshua Culibao. Turner won the fight via TKO in the second round. Turner was scheduled to face Thiago Moisés on September 5, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 176 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 176'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 9'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 5, 2020 at the UFC ...

. However, on September 5, 2020, Moisés tested positive for Covid-19 and the bout against Turner was cancelled. In turn, Turner was quickly rescheduled and faced

Brok Weaver Brok Mitchell Weaver (born December 5, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of PFL. A professional since 2013, he has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career ...

on September 12, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 177. After knocking Weaver down multiple times, Turner won the fight via a rear–naked choke submission in round two. Turner faced

Uroš Medić Uroš Medić (born April 25, 1993) is a Serbian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in the Novi Sad suburb of Budisava, he started Judo at four years old. ...

on September 25, 2021 at

UFC 266 ''UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 25, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

. He won the fight via rear naked choke in round one. Turner faced

on March 5, 2022 at

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Turner faced

Brad Riddell Bradley Stephen Riddell (born 30 September 1991) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Riddell netted several kickboxi ...

on on July 2, 2022, at

UFC 276 ''UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 2, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He won the bout via guillotine choke submission less than a minute into the contest. This win earned him a ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award.

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(One time)

Personal life

Growing up Turner was arachnophobic. To help combat his fear of spiders he started collecting tarantulas as pets. By the time he made his UFC debut he had 200 pet tarantulas, which earned him his ring nickname "The Tarantula". During the UFC Vegas 10 weigh-ins Turner chose to have his official weight taken while holding a tarantula in his left hand.

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Bellator 192 2018 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2015. Background In addition to airing cards on the newly-rebranded Paramount Network ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 , Inglewood, California, United States , , - , , align=center, 5–3 , Vytautas Sadauskas , Submission (triangle choke) , KOTC: Never Quit , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

, United States , , - , , align=center, 4–3 , Richard LeRoy , TKO (punches) , CXF 8 : Cali Kings , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:18 , Burbank, California, United States , , - , , align=center, 4–2 , Paradise Vaovasa , KO (knee to the body) , TPF 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:30 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , , align=center, 3–2 , Gabriel Green , KO (punches) , Bellator 170 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 , Inglewood, California, United States , , - , , align=center, 2–2 , Andrew Lagdaan , Decision (split) , SMASH Global 4: Fight Bullying , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , , align=center, 2–1 , Ronnie Borja , TKO (punches) , California Fight League 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 ,

Victorville, California Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cr ...

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WSOF 28 World Series of Fighting 28: Moraes vs. Barajas was a mixed martial arts event held on at the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, California. Background The event was headlined by a WSOF Bantamweight Championship fight between champion M ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 , Garden Grove, California, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Jalin 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California Mixed martial artists from California American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters