Jalin Turner celebrates his 45-second win over Brad Riddell. Credit: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Jalin Turner’s career peaked with a 45-second finish during five-fight UFC win streak

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Jordan Ellis | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 3:37 PM ET

Jalin Turner shocked the MMA world by announcing his retirement in March.

The lightweight contender was just 29 years old when he decided to quit the sport following UFC 313.

Ignacio Bahamondes tapped out ‘The Tarantula’ inside half a round on the undercard of Alex Pereira‘s first light heavyweight title fight with Magomed Ankalaev.

Seven months later, Jalin Turner says he’s ended his brief retirement and is ‘waiting on the call’ to make his UFC comeback official.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Watch Jalin Turner choke out Brad Riddell

Jalin Turner was once one of the most promising lightweight prospects on the UFC roster.

After going 1-2 in his first three UFC fights, Turner put together an impressive five-fight win streak.

Two of his opponents got knocked out, and two of them got submitted before a fight with Brad Riddell was booked.

The New Zealander had only been beaten by a Rafael Fiziev spinning back kick during his UFC career.

That shot came in the third round of Riddell’s fifth trip to the Octagon, where he hasn’t tasted victory since.

Next time out, Turner rocked Riddell with a huge punch before grabbing his head when he panicked and shot for a takedown.

Turner locked up a guillotine choke from top position and got the tap just 45 seconds into their July 2022 fight.

Riddell is yet to return from the break he took after suffering a third stoppage loss in a row against Renato Moicano later that same year.

TURNER WASTED NO TIME GETTING THE SUB #UFC276 pic.twitter.com/1Dvyt0BA0S
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 3, 2022

Why did Jalin Turner retire?

Jalin Turner’s win over Brad Riddell catapulted him into the lightweight top 15.

The UFC’s 155lb division is widely regarded as one of the strongest in all of MMA.

Turner found the step up in competition tough, as he lost back-to-back split decisions against Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker.

A savage bounce-back win over Bobby Green earned Turner another big fight with Renato Moicano.

Turner thought he had a walk-off KO before the Brazilian fan favorite stopped him in an incredible comeback.

Losing to Ignacio Bahamondes meant Turner had won just one of his past five fights, but he insisted poor form had nothing to do with his retirement decision.

“I took some time off [after UFC 300] and I stepped away… For about 11 months, almost a year, and I was just trying to find if I had the fire, the drive, the inspiration to fight,” Turner said in March.

“There was so much going on, there’s so much going on with me mentally, and defeat always sucks. I just had to process some things that I was going through, and I kept trying to find the love for the sport again – and it just kept dwindling.”

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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