Jalin Turner discussed his upcoming fight against Renato Moicano and provided updates on his fighting career behind the scenes.
Turner suffered a significant setback in 2023 after his five-fight winning streak, all inside the distance, was ended by back-to-back split-decision losses against Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker. Luckily for him, he ended the year on a positive note by securing a first-round knockout win against Bobby Green in December.
On April 13, ‘The Tarantula,’ ranked number ten at lightweight, looks to build momentum during the biggest event of the year, UFC 300. Standing in Turner’s way is number thirteen-ranked Renato Moicano, who is coming off a unanimous decision win against Drew Dober.
Turner recently did an exclusive interview with MiddleEasy and discussed various topics about his fight against Moicano. The 28-year-old had this to say when asked about being a near 3-1 betting favorite for the UFC 300 matchup:
“That’s cool, but I feel like a lot of the betting odds go based off of the fighter’s previous performances, obviously. Moicano is coming off a decision win against Drew Dober and then I’m coming off a kind of higher-level more exciting finish of Bobby Green. So, you know that kind of plays into the betting odds I think. For me, I’m not overlooking anybody. I’m not underestimating anybody. I still feel like I’m the underdog in this fight. I’m fighting somebody lower ranked than me, so I got more to live up to and more to lose anyway.”
Turner and Moicano have showcased flashes of well-rounded skills, but their upcoming matchup is primarily seen as a striker vs. grappler. ‘The Tarantula’ had this to say about how he matches up stylistically against his Brazilian opponent:
“I feel like I match up well against anybody. That’s my mindset as a fighter. I go out there and I want to do my thing, do my job and perform how I see fits. Stylistically, I believe I do really well against him. He’s tough, he’s durable, and he has some really high jiu-jitsu accolades, but I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu for a long time. I’m well-versed in nullifying jiu-jitsu. I feel like my striking is really sharp and crisp. I think that’s going to be the name of the game.”
Turner also provided a non-specific prediction about his fight against Moicano:
“I see myself getting my hand raised. I don’t want to make any crazy predicitions. Just tune in.”
Jalin Turner talks contract status and changing his management team
Jalin Turner has proven he will be a mainstay in the UFC for years to come. The California native’s latest win also added value to his presence within the promotion, potentially making him more money when he re-signs.
During the previously mentioned MiddleEasy interview, ‘The Tarantula’ had this to say about how many more fights are on his contract:
“Three [fights left on my contract]. I think I did a five-fight deal.”
Turner was also asked about recently changing his management team:
“I don’t even know if I could publicly say why I switched up [my management team]. Business, that’s all I can say, business.”
Jalin Turner is fighting back in the rankings for his upcoming bout against Renato Moicano. With that said, the 6’3” lightweight has an opportunity to showcase his skills on a massive platform at UFC 300. It’ll be intriguing to see if he can further put the division on notice with another impressive performance.
Watch Turner’s entire interview with MiddleEasy below:
