Jalin Turner, or “The Tarantula” as he’s sometimes known, has enjoyed his first visit to Dubai, the UFC lightweight spending a month-long training camp in the emirate as he prepares for the next major test of his still-rising professional career.
There has been the honing his skillset at TK MMA Fit gym in Media City, where Turner has done the rounds with none other than Khamzat Chimaev, one of the sport's most prominent athletes. One of the most accomplished, too.
“That dude’s a beast, man,” Turner tells The National. “I was like, ‘OK, he's legit’. I can see myself elevating so much just from the little amount of time I've spent with him already.
"It's been awesome, a great experience. I didn't even know he was going to be out here; I didn't know high-level fighters were going to be out here. It's been eye-opening.”
Ditto, Chimaez’s MMA credentials.
“Man, his pace…" Turner says. "I didn't think he was going to have the pace that he had, and he still had great timing. I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Your striking is pretty sharp. All right.’ And his wrestling's phenomenal, that's a given.
“Everybody's talking about the picture we took together, how we look the same size; he's definitely a lot bigger than me. I feel strong for my weight class [155 lbs] and he's a couple above me [middleweight, 185lbs] and he felt super strong. I was like, ‘Bro, what? How is this possible?’ It was crazy. But it was cool. He's a good guy.”
Turner, who takes on Dan Hooker at UFC 290 next month, has even embraced the early summer UAE heat – “it’s helping me with my weight cut” – and found the food “amazing”, frequenting the Charcoal Garden restaurant that sits handily close to the gym.
But the biggest surprise of his Dubai stay thus far?
“Oh, I tried lentil soup for the first time,” Turner says. “That place has the best lentil soup.”
Dubai has been a resounding success on the whole.
“The atmosphere's been great,” Turner says. “The people have been cool. It just exceeded all my expectations.”
Turner aims to make a habit out of exceeding those himself. At 28, his assault on the world’s lead MMA promotion has some way to go, the next stop in his bid for UFC gold the July 8 clash against the hugely experienced Hooker in Las Vegas.
Turner, 13-6 as a pro, features on the main card during the UFC’s marquee International Fight Week. The lights often shine brightest then, but the No 10-ranked lightweight contender had no issue with the same stage last summer, when he needed only 45 seconds to submit Brad Riddell at UFC 276.
Understandably, the return to T-Mobile Arena doesn’t faze him. Anything but.
“I did it last year, just got to repeat the same thing,” Turner shrugs. “I'm used to all the big cards, to the atmosphere, to the energy. I love it, I thrive in it. Pressure makes diamonds, and I'm ready to shine.”
Hooker, though, represents a formidable challenge to Turner’s gem talent. The New Zealander, the division’s No 11-ranked challenger, may have lost four of his past six, but three of those came against Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Islam Makhachev – guys at the very top of the standings. Makhachev is the current champion.
Still, Turner anticipates adding another loss to Hooker’s record.
“Humbly speaking, I feel like I'm going to put him out in the first round,” he says. “Because I've watched him since before I even got to the UFC, and I've studied him a lot and I know how to get it done.”
Turner tends to get it done fast. Three of his six wins in the UFC have come in the first round, while the rest of his vanquished opponents did not see the third. Meanwhile, Hooker’s past three defeats fell in the opening round.
Not, of course, that Turner is underestimating him.
“It honestly depends on how he trains and how he shows up,” he says. “Because Dan is a killer, Dan's tough, Dan's been battle-tested.
“I'm not counting him out in any way, shape, or form; I'm training for him like he's one of the best in the world, because he is.
“I just feel like a few of my abilities are better than his. Long story short, I feel like I have better speed, timing, and accuracy, and he’s relied a lot on his toughness and durability. And that's going to ultimately be his downfall.”
Add to the equation that Turner’s most recent outing, a split-decision defeat to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 283 in March, still rankles. A supreme wrestler, the Pole jumped in on short notice after Hooker withdrew through injury. Ultimately, it paid off: Turner’s win streak – five fights – was halted.
“I’ve watched that back numerous times,” Turner says. “I personally feel like I should have got my hand raised just off the judging score criteria.
“So that's what I got a little chip on my shoulder about: I want to go show the world that I'm still here, that I'm still extending my win streak. I'm here to take over the game.”
It’s time, then, for “The Tarantula”. The moniker is one of the more recognisable in the UFC, a nickname that found root when Turner was a kid. His friends back then hated spiders and, after the sensation soon took hold of him too, Turner resolved to do something about it.
He faced his fear. And more.
“I was like, ‘Man, I grew up watching Steve Irwin, that was my idol as a child,’” he says. “‘How can I let this fear overtake me so much?’ So one day I was like, ‘Let me just try to challenge myself’."
“I went to a pet store, bought one as a pet and it creeped me out so much. Then took it home, watched it drink water and I was like, ‘Oh, that's cool.’
“Then I started studying more and doing research on them, studying different species, seeing all these different colours of species, temperaments. I was like, ‘Wow, these are really amazing creatures.’
“I had misunderstood them for so long. And I just related to that at that time in my life too; I've always felt so misunderstood, growing up.
“Once I acquired the knowledge of them, I fell in love. Got 10, 10 turning into 20, I started breeding them, selling them, and had 200 plus at one point, babies of the old, juveniles, all kind, a big collection. And that's how the name stuck.
"And also, Anderson Silva was one of my idols as a young aspiring MMA practitioner, and he was ‘The Spider’, so I was like, ‘Oh, The Tarantula. That'd be a cool spin on it.’”
To give Hooker his dues, he boasts a cool sobriquet, also. So, July 8, “The Tarantula” versus “The Hangman”? Has a decent ring to it.
“It sounds dope, man," Turner says. "Dan's an awesome dude, I've loved watching him fight over the years. It's going to be an honour just to share the octagon with him. But it's just the torch has been passed.”
Pass that torch, keep it burning through until October. With his first visit to the UAE in the bag, Turner is targeting a return at UFC 294 at Etihad Arena.
“Man, we definitely thought about that one, that's already on my [mind],” he says, rubbing his hands together. “Look, I'm not looking past Dan; I got to get that job done first and then we can see what happens after that.
“But I would definitely love to be on the Abu Dhabi card. It’s been amazing out here. I love this place. You guys have my heart.”
