Rivalries: Jalin Turner

Jalin Turner remains a work in progress.

The 29-year-old Californian will look to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division when he takes on Ignacio Bahamondes in a featured UFC 313 attraction this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Turner steps back into view having lost three of his past four bouts. He last competed at UFC 300, where Renato “Money” Moicano cast him aside with elbows and punches in the second round of their April 13 pairing.

As Turner approaches his upcoming battle with Bahamondes at 155 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Vicente Luque

The Kill Cliff Fight Club export spoiled Turner’s long-awaited Octagon debut when he stopped “The Tarantula” with first-round punches as part of the UFC 229 undercard on Oct. 6, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Operating in the shadows of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov headliner, Luque drew the curtain 3:52 into Round 1. Even with four-inch height and two-inch reach advantages, Turner could not keep the New Jersey-born Brazilian at bay. Luque pressured the Dana White’s Contender Series alum onto the back foot and offered him little room with which to operate. He countered an ill-advised spinning backfist from Turner and decked him with a clean right hook before trailing him to the mat. Once there, Luque sealed the deal with a brutal burst of punches.

Brad Riddell

Turner put away the City Kickboxing standout with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featured UFC 276 prelim on July 2, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Riddell raised the white flag of surrender a mere 45 seconds into Round 1. Turner staggered the New Zealander with a concussive right hand to the temple during one of their initial exchanges and went to work. A poorly conceived takedown attempt from Riddell followed. Turner shut it down with ease, locked in the guillotine and moved to a mounted position, at which point he readjusted his grip and prompted the tapout. It resulted in a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Mateusz Gamrot

The former two-division Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki champion Mateusz did just enough to eke out a split decision over Turner in their three-round UFC 285 lightweight feature on March 4, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Judges Derek Cleary and Ron McCarthy scored it 29-28 and 30-27 for Gamrot, while David Lethaby saw it 29-28 for Turner. Gamrot delivered takedowns in all three rounds and at times paired them with positional control and ground-and-pound. The 6-foot-3 Turner was superior in the standup exchanges and clipped the American Top Team rep with knees, right hooks and body kicks. Too often, however, he failed to maintain a safe distance, allowing the Polish grappler to get into takedown range and curb his momentum. The loss snapped Turner’s career-best five-fight winning streak.

Bobby Green

Turner rebounded from a split decision defeat to Dan Hooker five months prior and ambushed the ex-King of the Cage titleholder with punches in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 52 co-main event on Dec. 2, 2023 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Green succumbed to blows 2:49 into Round 1. They kicked off their brief but explosive encounter with a furious exchange that drew oohs and aahs from many of the 14,485 fans in attendance, then reset to catch their breath. Soon after, Turner wobbled the seasoned veteran with a jarring right hand to the temple and watched home nosedive to the canvas. It was the beginning of the end for Green. Turner pounced with punches and unleashed his hands until “King” was completely unconscious.