# Jalin Turner

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.

## Background

Born in San Bernardino, California, 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. 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. Frustrated by the recurring injuries, he started watching MMA 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, until he joined Team Adrenaline which kickstarted his mixed martial arts career. 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". At UFC Vegas 10 Turner had his official weight taken while holding a tarantula in his left hand.

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

### Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series

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

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Turner made his UFC debut against Vicente Luque on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229, losing by 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 had pulled out of the fight, and was replaced by Callan Potter. Turner won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Turner faced Matt Frevola on April 13, 2019 at UFC 236. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Turner was scheduled to face Jamie Mullarkey on February 23, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 168. 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. 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 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.
In January 2024, Turner attained his highest ranking at #9 in the UFC lightweight division.
Turner faced Uroš Medić on September 25, 2021 at UFC 266. He won the fight via rear naked choke in round one.
Turner faced Jamie Mullarkey on March 5, 2022 at UFC 272. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.
Turner faced Brad Riddell on July 2, 2022, at UFC 276. He won the bout via guillotine choke submission less than a minute into the contest. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award.
Turner was scheduled to face Dan Hooker on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. However, Hooker was forced to withdraw from the event, citing a hand injury, and he was replaced by Mateusz Gamrot. In a closely contested bout where Gamrot employed his wrestling to combat Turner's reach advantage, Turner lost by split decision.
Turner faced Dan Hooker on July 8, 2023 at UFC 290. 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. In a back and forth bout, Turner came out losing the bout via split decision.
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. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Turner faced Renato Moicano on April 13, 2024, at UFC 300. Despite scoring an early knockdown, Turner lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Turner faced Ignacio Bahamondes on March 8, 2025 at UFC 313. He lost the fight via a triangle choke submission in the round. After the bout, he left his gloves in the middle of the octagon and retired from mixed martial arts competition.

## Championships and awards
### Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Brad Riddell and Bobby Green
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2023: Ranked #6 Fight of the Year vs. Dan Hooker

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 23 matches | 14 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 4 |
| By submission | 4 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 4 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 14–9 | Ignacio Bahamondes | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 313 | March 8, 2025 | 1 | 2:29 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 14–8 | Renato Moicano | TKO (elbows and punches) | UFC 300 | April 13, 2024 | 2 | 4:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 14–7 | Bobby Green | KO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan | December 2, 2023 | 1 | 2:49 | Austin, Texas, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 13–7 | Dan Hooker | Decision (split) | UFC 290 | July 8, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (158 lb) bout; Turner missed weight. |
| Loss | 13–6 | Mateusz Gamrot | Decision (split) | UFC 285 | March 4, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 13–5 | Brad Riddell | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 276 | July 2, 2022 | 1 | 0:45 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 12–5 | Jamie Mullarkey | TKO (punches) | UFC 272 | March 5, 2022 | 2 | 0:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 11–5 | Uroš Medić | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 266 | September 25, 2021 | 1 | 4:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–5 | Brok Weaver | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill | September 12, 2020 | 2 | 4:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (165 lb) bout. |
| Win | 9–5 | Joshua Culibao | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker | February 23, 2020 | 2 | 3:01 | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 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 | Return to Lightweight. |
| Loss | 7–4 | Vicente Luque | KO (punches) | UFC 229 | October 6, 2018 | 1 | 3:52 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Welterweight debut. |
| Win | 7–3 | Max Mustaki | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Dana White's Contender Series 12 | July 10, 2018 | 1 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–3 | Noah Tillis | TKO (punches) | Bellator 192 | 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 | June 17, 2017 | 3 | 4:18 | Burbank, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Paradise Vaovasa | KO (knee to the body) | Tachi Palace Fights 31 | May 18, 2017 | 1 | 1:30 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–2 | Gabriel Green | KO (punches) | Bellator 170 | January 21, 2017 | 1 | 0:36 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Andrew Lagdaan | Decision (split) | SMASH Global 4 | September 15, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Ronnie Borja | KO (punches) | 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 | June 10, 2016 | 1 | 4:55 | Commerce, California, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
| Win | 1–0 | Eric Steans | KO (punch) | WSOF 28 | February 20, 2016 | 1 | 0:32 | Garden Grove, California, United States | Lightweight debut. |