Jalin Turner recalls contemplating retirement after fumbling $300K bonus in historic event

UFC lightweight Jalin Turner's lost momentum last April and UFC 313 loss to Ignacio Bahamondes factored in him calling quits.

Jalin Turner recalls contemplating retirement after fumbling $300K bonus in historic event

Jalin Turner considered retirement long before UFC 313 PPV challenge vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (Source: IMAGO/X)

Some losses in the career are too hard to just sweep out in an override. Jalin Turner’s hard loss at UFC 313 PPV main card this past weekend was obviously one. Ignacio Bahamondes submitted him in round 1 of Saturday’s main card lightweight scrapper. But his woes started from the milestone UFC 300 card last April.

Jalin Turner fumbled the ball in his court against Renato Moicano at UFC 300 PPV lightweight bout last April. “Tarantula” stunned and dropped Moicano and could have almost gotten a walk-off KO. But, Turner rather walked off thinking he had it in the bag. ‘Money’ Moicano did recover and complete it by ground-and-pound TKO in Round 2! The fighter stated that the loss was the start of all troubles and was hard to digest.

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I’ve been struggling with it—the thought of it—since UFC 300. The UFC 300 loss kept consuming me; it didn’t go away…I thought I was overcome with the fear of failure, the fear of losing, and the fear of not giving it my all. I couldn’t find a place of consistency in my head to want to compete.

Jalin Turner to Denis Shkuratov for the ‘Submission Radio’ Show for SBNation Network (🎥: @SubmissionRadio on YT)

This was a prime indication for the fighter that he needed to change something. The same thing happened to Matt Frevola when he went on a five-fight winning streak. The Team Carlson Gracie Riverside fighter had said he made changes to his grapple and area control game. However, he could not make it matter against surging contender Ignacio Bahamondes.

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After the submission loss vs. Ignacio Bahamondes. Turner even hung up his gloves despite some positive reinforcements from his camp and corner. UFC CEO Dana White said that even Belal Muhammad from the opposing corner might have told him to reconsider. But to him, this was a clear-cut moment that he could not lace up his gloves anymore.

Jalin Turner opens up about emotional decision to call it quits after UFC 313 PPV loss

Throughout his tenure, Turner was able to enter the top-15 rankings. He has touted finishes over standout names like Jamie Mullarkey, Brad Riddell, and even King Green. But UFC 313 was just a different challenge.

Jalin Turner opened up about calling it quits after UFC 313
Jalin Turner opened up about calling it quits after UFC 313 (Source: X)

Bahamondes boasts 5/6 victories via stoppages and he proved he was a problem. At UFC on ESPN 29, he was one of the fighters to punctuate KO from a spinning wheel kick. His pace is also matched, with a stat of 7.12 significant strikes per minute. Ignacio Bahamondes took the matter to the deep bottom and finished Turner with a triangle at 2:29 of Round 1.

With the loss, Jalin Turner fell short in four out of five of his last outings. He has always been entertaining and strong in the name but often stayed on as a gatekeeper test. Before this, names like Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker took the ‘Turner’ test and moved on with higher contention. Already planning to call it quits after UFC 300, Turner felt he had no more momentum.

I was already entertaining the thought, retiring after UFC 300, …ook a little bit of time off, you know – kept training, just trying to get my mind right, just focus on like my mental health. It’s hard, man – fighting is hard. I’ve been doing it for 12 years…I wasn’t fully all in as I thought I would be. The decision to stay or not was honestly based off this fight for me. 

Jalin Turner to Sportsnet MMA broadcaster Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter)

Chile’s Bahamondes quickly reversed his trial to work from guard position and headhunted a finisher. Turner lauded the surging prospect, saying he deserved the win. While the 29-year-old had meant to prove he was still a top contender and not a 155-pound skills gatekeeper, he could not. Hence, he soon indicated to reported cageside that he’s calling it quits.

Related: “You couldn’t even finish Jalin Turner,” UFC 300 star Renato Moicano goes off against Dan Hooker for picking against him