Introduction
Jalin Turner (born 18 May 1995) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2016, he has also competed for Bellator MMA, the World Series of Fighting, King of the Cage, and Tachi Palace Fights.
Background
Turner started his combat sport career on the sophomore year of high school when he signed up for wrestling class. After a broken finger which prevented him from competing in wrestling, Turner discovered mma by watching UFC fights in television. With little money in his teenage life and could not afford to buy combat training equipment, he would run and shadow boxing and used used his family couch as the punching bag, until he join Team Adrenaline that kicked start his mma 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 Tuesday Night Contender Series: Season 2, Episode 4. He won the fight technical knockout in round one.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Turner made his UFC debut against Vicente Luque on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229. 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. However, on January 23, 2019, it was reported that Gorgees pull out of the fight, and he was replaced by Callan Potter. He won the fight via knockout in the first round .
At UFC 236 on April 13, 2019, Turner faced Matt Frevola. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Turner is scheduled to face Jamie Mullarkey on February 23, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 168.
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".
Turner has a son.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 13 matches | 8 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 3 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 8–5 | Matt Frevola | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 236 | April 13, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 8–4 | Callan Potter | TKO (punches) | UFC 234 | February 10, 2019 | 1 | 0:53 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Loss | 7–4 | Vicente Luque | KO (punches) | UFC 229 | October 6, 2018 | 1 | 3:52 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–3 | Max Mustaki | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series: Season 2, Episode 4 | July 10, 2018 | 1 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–3 | Noah Tillis | TKO (punches) | Bellator 192: Rampage vs Sonnen | January 20, 2018 | 1 | 1:12 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–3 | Vytautas Sadauskas | Submission (triangle choke) | KOTC: Never Quit | September 2, 2017 | 1 | 1:39 | Ontario, California, United States | |
| Loss | 4–3 | Richard LeRoy | TKO (punches) | CXF 8 : Cali Kings | January 17, 2017 | 3 | 4:18 | Burbank, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Paradise Vaovasa | KO (knee to the body) | Tachi Palace Fights 31: Diaz vs. Gibson | May 18, 2017 | 1 | 1:30 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–2 | Gabriel Green | KO (punches) | Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen | January 21, 2017 | 1 | 0:36 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Andrew Lagdaan | Decision (split) | SMASH Global 4: Fight Bullying | September 15, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Ronnie Borja | TKO (punches) | CFL: California Fight League 8 | July 30, 2016 | 1 | 0:11 | Victorville, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Adrian Ajoleza | TKO (body kick) | BAMMA Badbeat 20 Saunders vs. Culley | June 10, 2016 | 1 | 4:55 | Commerce, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Eric Steans | KO (punch) | WSOF 28 Moraes vs. Barajas | February 20, 2016 | 1 | 0:32 | Garden Grove, California, United States |