When MMA fighters retire, it often means they plan to proceed 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 game of MMA, despite still being in his ‘fighting prime’ at only 29 years old.
Nonetheless, as we’ve seen with the slew of recent retirees signing to the GFL promotion, that call 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 identical way [about retirement]. It’s been settling in a bit bit more. I got my retirement letter from the UFC, and I still stand by the choice [so] that’s where I’m at right away with it.
“I took some day without work [after UFC 300] and I stepped away… For about 11 months, almost a yr, and I used to be just trying to seek out if I had the fireplace, the drive, the inspiration to fight,” continued Turner.
“There was a lot happening, there’s a lot happening with me mentally, and defeat at all times sucks. I just needed to process some things that I used to be going through and I kept trying to seek out the love for the game again – and it just kept dwindling.”
Turner made his UFC debut back in 2018 and competed 13 times under the UFC banner, scoring 4 KO/TKO and three submission wins in his time with the promotion.
As aptly noted by the favored lightweight, “It’s hard to be at the highest of the game and be inconsistent mentally,” as he also acknowledged that it’s sad to come back to terms with ‘the death of his dreams’.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted, but in addition, it’s the death of my dreams, [and] it’s hard – I mourn it, the more [it] sets within the more I give it some thought, it’s hard. There’s good days and bad days… I fight back tears talking about it… I feel it’s just, you already know, it’s the fitting decision.”
Jalin Turner admits he didn’t want to simply accept final UFC fight
While Turner’s UFC exit is bittersweet within the aftermath of UFC 313, ‘The Tarantula’ has also revealed that he didn’t particularly want to simply accept that fight against Ignacio Bahamondes in the primary place.
“I talked to my management and I’m like, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna take this fight, I would like 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 of it and I used to be like man, I feel like God told me to not let fear win so I got the contract and I used to be like alright, I’m gonna do it.
“I’ll just do it, recover from this fear, just overcome what I feel is bothering me. That’s something I at all times pride myself on is getting over my fears, it’s how I got the nickname ‘Tarantula’ to start with.”
On the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White agreed with Turner’s decision to retire, with the UFC CEO simply acknowledging: “You already know how I feel about that.
“Normally if you start [considering hanging up the gloves], rarely do I disagree with someone once they feel like they wanna retire.”
Jalin Turner bows out with an expert record of 14-9.
