It would seem that Jalin Turner’s time competing in mixed martial arts came to an end at UFC 313.
Turner returned to action for the first time since a crushing loss to Renato Moicano at UFC 300 last April. On the main card of Saturday’s pay-per-view event, “The Tarantula” was tasked with defending his ranking opposite the up-and-coming Ignacio Bahamondes.
As it turns out, Turner entered the cage inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena following months of contemplation regarding his future. And a first-round submission loss to “La Jaula” proved to be the final straw for the 29-year-old.
He removed his gloves inside the Octagon and informed press cageside that he was retiring.
Speaking to Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter backstage at T-Mobile Arena, Jalin Turner expanded on what has led to his likely decision to hang up the gloves for good.
“It’s hard, man. Fighting’s hard, and I’ve been doing it for 12 years. You either gotta be all in or not. And even being in there now, I wasn’t fully all in as I thought I would be. And the decision to stay or not was honestly based off this fight for me,” Jalin Turner said. “I felt like I’d get the nod, get the win. I watched him. He’s an up and coming prospect. He deserved the opportunity. And I felt like I would’ve got my hand raised and I didn’t. I know it’s emotional right now, but I’ve been thinking about this for the last 11 months, if I’m gonna keep fighting or not. I was bad on signing the fight contract because I didn’t know if I was gonna retire or not. I didn’t know, how much longer I wanted to keep doing this.
“Now my kids are getting older. I don’t want to keep taking damage,” Turner continued. “Training camps are hard. Life is really taking a toll. It’s been taking a toll the last 11 months, so I just need to step away for a little bit. I mean, maybe forever. At this point, the competition just gets better. I’m just getting older. So yeah, I’m gonna just sit down and think about it. You know? But I think that’s it. … Doubts come, there’s always gonna be things that deter you. … I was in love with it. I love the sport. I love competing, and the fire is just not there.”
Should Jalin Turner commit to retirement, his career will conclude after a 7-6 run in the UFC, during which he defeated the likes of Brad Riddell and King Green.
