LAS VEGAS – Jalin Turner knew he had to go back to the drawing board after losing to Renato Moicano.
After dropping Moicano in their UFC 300 lightweight bout last April, Turner walked off thinking he got the job done – only to realize the fight wasn’t over. Not only was Moicano able to recover, but he completely turned the tide by finishing Turner with ground-and-pound TKO in Round 2.
It was a tough pill to swallow for Turner (14-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), who used this time off to work on his grappling.
“Grappling is always something that I need to polish and sharpen up,” Turner told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference Wednesday. “I’m in a division where everybody is an elite grappler that’s been grappling since they were toddlers. I started fighting when I was 18 years old. I, per se, don’t have the grappling accolade that a lot of these guys do, so I have to learn to nullify their game or just advance position so I can play my game better. You saw what happened in the Moicano fight, I really thought I was well suited to deal with his grappling and his jiu-jitsu, and how heavy he felt on top really blew my mind.
“I wasn’t as prepared as I needed to be, so I did take the time off and just worked grappling. I got in the trenches. I got dirty. I was grappling all day, every day. I was doing a bunch of jiu-jitsu, a bunch of wrestling, went to Dubai to do some wrestling. I’ve been working. My striking is still sharp – it’s always going to be my bread and butter, my go to, but I had to sharpen something that was dull. The last time I did that was when I fought Matt Frevola, and then I went on my five-fight win streak. That’s reincarnation. I’m the phoenix right now – I’m reborn. I want to go in there, get back in the mix, and showcase how much better I’ve gotten.”
Turner returns against rising contender Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 313 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+).
Turner acknowledges that they’re on different career trajectories, but plans on showing that he’s still a top contender.
“I feel like that was exactly what was in the mind’s of the matchmakers when this fight got put together,” Turner said. “I’m coming off of a layoff, he has all this hype, and I’m right here.”
“The Tarantula” is entering fight week rejuvenated. Although this will be the ninth time he fights in Las Vegas, this one has been different.
“This fight week, my routine has been completely different because my weight was really good,” Turner said. “I got to enjoy more things. I was out hiking in nature a little bit more. It’s been fun. I’ve been gone for almost a year, man. I just came back and I just wanted to soak up every moment of this.
“Being in front here, talking to you guys, I’ve got to realize, I’m about to be 30. I’m not going to be doing this for too much longer in my life, so I just want to enjoy it as much as possible, just soak up every single moment because it’s going to be gone one day.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
This news first appeared on MMA Junkie. Read the original article here
