When MMA fighters retire, it usually means they plan to continue fighting – just not for whichever promotion they’d been competing in – but not Jalin Turner.
Following his submission loss at UFC 313, popular lightweight contender Jalin Turner announced his retirement from the sport of MMA, despite still being in his ‘fighting prime’ at only 29 years old.
However, as we’ve seen with the slew of recent retirees signing to the GFL promotion, that decision to walk away is more-often-then-not, walked back.
So, how’s ‘The Tarantula’ feeling about his UFC exit?
UFC lightweight Jalin Turner provides emotional retirement update
Speaking via The Ariel Helwani Show earlier this week, Jalin ‘The Tarantula’ Turner reflected upon his decision to call it quits following his first-round submission loss at UFC 313.
“Yeah, I’m still feeling the same way [about retirement]. It’s been settling in a little bit more. I got my retirement letter from the UFC, and I still stand by the decision [so] that’s where I’m at right now with it.
“I took some time off [after UFC 300] and I stepped away… For about 11 months, almost a year, and I was just trying to find if I had the fire, the drive, the inspiration to fight,” continued Turner.
“There was so much going on, there’s so much going on with me mentally, and defeat always sucks. I just had to process some things that I was going through and I kept trying to find the love for the sport again – and it just kept dwindling.”
Turner made his UFC debut back in 2018 and competed 13 times under the UFC banner, scoring four KO/TKO and three submission wins in his time with the promotion.
As aptly noted by the popular lightweight, “It’s hard to be at the top of the sport and be inconsistent mentally,” as he also acknowledged that it’s sad to come to terms with ‘the death of his dreams’.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted, but also, it’s the death of my dreams, [and] it’s hard – I mourn it, the more [it] sets in the more I think about it, it’s hard. There’s good days and bad days… I fight back tears talking about it… I think it’s just, you know, it’s the right decision.”
Jalin Turner admits he didn’t want to accept final UFC fight
While Turner’s UFC exit is bittersweet in the aftermath of UFC 313, ‘The Tarantula’ has also revealed that he didn’t particularly want to accept that fight against Ignacio Bahamondes in the first place.
“I talked to my management and I’m like, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna take this fight, I need some more time’,” he explained in conversation with Submission Radio.
“I ended up seeing the fight contract, I don’t know why, I don’t know what happened but I still got sent the fight contract and I prayed about it, thought about it and I was like man, I feel like God told me not to let fear win so I got the contract and I was like alright, I’m gonna do it.
“I’ll just do it, get over this fear, just overcome what I feel is bothering me. That’s something I always pride myself on is getting over my fears, it’s how I got the nickname ‘Tarantula’ to begin with.”
At the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White agreed with Turner’s decision to retire, with the UFC CEO simply acknowledging: “You know how I feel about that.
“Usually when you start [considering hanging up the gloves], rarely do I disagree with somebody when they feel like they wanna retire.”
Jalin Turner bows out with a professional record of 14-9.