LAS VEGAS – Jalin Turner needed to snap out of a rough patch a few months ago, and he did so with authority.
After a pair of heartbreaking back-to-back split decision losses to Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker in 2023 – his first skid in more than seven years and an end to five straight UFC finishes – Turner knocked out Bobby Green for a $50,000 bonus.
Saturday on the prelims at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena for the monumental UFC 300 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) prelims, Turner (14-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has another tough ask on his hands: Renato Moicano (18-5-1 MMA, 10-5 UFC).
But because Turner was in the cage with Hooker for one of his split decision setbacks, he said he knows tough opponents – and thinks that will have him more than prepared for Moicano.
“I’m pretty sure there’s other people that I’ve fought that have the same accolades. I don’t know how durable he is,” Turner said at Wednesday’s media day. “Dan Hooker was definitely the toughest fighter I’ve ever fought in my life. I don’t know if Moicano is that durable. I won’t know until I fight him. But body-wise, (Moicano’s) style is kind of similar to Dan a little bit, but not as well-versed in the striking, I would say. We’ll see.”
You can watch Turner’s full media day session in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
