Nine months after saying he was done with the Octagon, Jalin Turner has come back in a big way, scoring a first-round finish of Edson Barboza at UFC 323.
Turner and Barboza did plenty of combination trading to start before Turner busted him opponent with an elbow. Turner would quickly drop Barboza and rain down some heavy ground-and-pound.
Barboza made his way back to his feet, but Turner did not let up on the pressure. Another flurry of shots saw Turner draw Barboza again, this time forcing Herb Dean to wave off the action.
Jalin Turner Stops Edson Barboza In One Round At UFC 323
This man retired because he did not feel like he could hurt people anymore and didn't feel like he was good enough.
Glad that Jalin Turner is back in the UFC. He makes lightweight much better 🫡pic.twitter.com/1SWRVjhBbI
Welcome back, Jalin Turner!!! Almost gave up on the dream, but proved he’s still got plenty left to offer. Respect!!! #UFC323pic.twitter.com/oySzh8XtZJ
Longtime UFC lightweight contender Jalin Turner has officially called time on his career, and a former opponent of his has emerged among the prominent names sending congratulatory messages.
Turner announced his shock retirement at the age of just 29 moments after his latest setback inside the Octagon this past weekend.
Returning to the cage at UFC 313 for the first time since a crushing loss to Renato Moicano last April, “The Tarantula” was quickly submitted by up-and-coming prospect Ignacio Bahamondes.
After removing his gloves, Turner informed reporters cageside that his time competing on MMA’s biggest stage was over. And a few days later, the American officially confirmed his decision to retire in a heartfelt social media post.
Turner has since received plenty of supportive messages, with one of the most recent coming from Moicano.
One of the dangerous mdfker in the game! Congrats on your carrer! I wish you all the best and enjoy life 💪 https://t.co/Fh5DCijJ0q
“One of the dangerous mdfker in the game! Congrats on your (career)! I wish you all the best and enjoy life,” Moicano wrote on X.
While explaining his decision to hang up the gloves, Jalin Turner admitted he’d been pondering an exit from MMA in the months on from his knockout loss to “Money” Moicano at UFC 300.
It would seem that Jalin Turner’s time competing in mixed martial arts came to an end at UFC 313.
Turner returned to action for the first time since a crushing loss to Renato Moicano at UFC 300 last April. On the main card of Saturday’s pay-per-view event, “The Tarantula” was tasked with defending his ranking opposite the up-and-coming Ignacio Bahamondes.
As it turns out, Turner entered the cage inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena following months of contemplation regarding his future. And a first-round submission loss to “La Jaula” proved to be the final straw for the 29-year-old.
He removed his gloves inside the Octagon and informed press cageside that he was retiring.
Speaking to Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter backstage at T-Mobile Arena, Jalin Turner expanded on what has led to his likely decision to hang up the gloves for good.
“It’s hard, man. Fighting’s hard, and I’ve been doing it for 12 years. You either gotta be all in or not. And even being in there now, I wasn’t fully all in as I thought I would be. And the decision to stay or not was honestly based off this fight for me,” Jalin Turner said. “I felt like I’d get the nod, get the win. I watched him. He’s an up and coming prospect. He deserved the opportunity. And I felt like I would’ve got my hand raised and I didn’t. I know it’s emotional right now, but I’ve been thinking about this for the last 11 months, if I’m gonna keep fighting or not. I was bad on signing the fight contract because I didn’t know if I was gonna retire or not. I didn’t know, how much longer I wanted to keep doing this.
“Now my kids are getting older. I don’t want to keep taking damage,” Turner continued. “Training camps are hard. Life is really taking a toll. It’s been taking a toll the last 11 months, so I just need to step away for a little bit. I mean, maybe forever. At this point, the competition just gets better. I’m just getting older. So yeah, I’m gonna just sit down and think about it. You know? But I think that’s it. … Doubts come, there’s always gonna be things that deter you. … I was in love with it. I love the sport. I love competing, and the fire is just not there.”
An emotional Jalin Turner discusses his decision to retire from the sport following his loss at UFC 313 pic.twitter.com/mOyx4aJiZ1
Should Jalin Turner commit to retirement, his career will conclude after a 7-6 run in the UFC, during which he defeated the likes of Brad Riddell and King Green.
Ignacio Bahamondes pulled off a shock in what was expected to be a strikers’ battle, as he scored a first-round submission of Jalin Turner at UFC 313.
Turner then pulled off an even bigger shock when, despite pleas from his corner, he elected to retire from mixed martial arts two months before his 30th birthday.
Commentary first mentioned Turner’s retirement following Bahamondes’ post-fight interview, with reporter John Morgan quickly confirming the decision. Another journalist, Mike Bohn, later provided video of Turner’s remarks to press row.
Jalin Turner tells me he's made the decision to retire. Asked if he might want to take some time to reconsider, but he says he's sure and has been battling with the decision since UFC 300. #UFC313.
Ignacio Bahamondes Scores First-Round Submission Of Retiring Jalin Turner
Bahamondes and Turner exchanged strikes early before Turner secured a takedown. Bahamondes, however, battled hard from his back on the bottom. He looked to reverse the position but settled for a triangle choke, which got him the submission.
Turner seemingly ends his career with four losses in his last five fights. His sole win since 2022 was a first-round knockout of King Green in December 2023.
Bahamondes, meanwhile, has now won three straight and is 6-2 since arriving to the Octagon.
Hooker has won two straight since a difficult run of form, most recently showing that his time toward the top is far from over by stalling the ambitions of Jalin Turner. The pair put on one of the fights of the night at UFC 290 last July, both wearing the damage from a three-round battle.
“The Tarantula” got the better of the early goings, notably connecting with a brutal head kick that Hooker somehow ate and maintained consciousness. “The Hangman,” though, was able to rally in rounds two and three to fall on the right side of a split decision — a feat made only more impressive by the fact Hooker had competed with a badly broken arm for the majority of the fight.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Hooker vs. Turner fight from UFC 290 on its official YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhoIoS5Ytc
Hooker will look to achieve a similar result come fight night Down Under, but likely without the grueling three-round nature of the contest and the severely broken arm he emerged from Las Vegas with over a year ago.
The New Zealander has, however, vowed to give Gamrot the “most exciting” fight of his career. And with “Gamer” also acknowledging the need to entertain if he’s to fight for gold soon, perhaps the Perth fans will be in for a barnburner when these two lightweights share the cage.
Jalin Turner was on the verge of beginning an impressive win streak by defeating Renato Moicano at UFC 300 and reclaiming his position as a promising contender in the lightweight division.
However, this is not how things went and many believe it to be because of Turner walking off after knocking down Moicano toward the end of the first round. Instead of getting on top and getting a likely TKO win, Turner turned away as if the fight was over.
Moicano, on the other hand, was far from knocked out and quickly got back up on his feet. Despite being wobbly, Moicano survived the last 15 seconds and ended up winning the fight via TKO in the second round.
Turner’s decision to not follow up with ground and pound was widely criticized. Looking back at it, the fighter has finally revealed what was going through his mind in that moment…
‘Rampage’ Jackson Correctly Predicts Why Turner Didn’t Finish Moicano At UFC 300
Turner recently appeared on the Jaxxon Podcast, hosted by former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson. “Rampage,” who was a devastating KO artist during his prime, was able to accurately make out how Turner’s controversial TKO win over Bobby Green affected his mentality.
“I’ve been thinking about this. I think I know why you walked off [against Moicano]. ‘Cause the last time the referee took his damn time stopping the fight and you such a good guy, you didn’t want to hurt nobody.”
As it turns out, this is exactly what stopped Turner from going for the finish against Moicano.
He recollected the backlash he received after the fight with Green as he landed several shots before the referee finally stepped in, even after it was apparent that Green wasn’t fighting back at all.
“That’s exactly what it is. My conscience just kind of kicked in a little bit, like mid-fight.
“My conscience really kicked in the fight, like even before the fight, I didn’t, like, fully, like, get to that, ‘Oh, I gotta like kill this dude instinct.’ I was just like, it’s a fight. I’m just, ‘Go, do a like, you know, just go perform,’ and yeah, that’s what happened.”
