Jalin Turner pens heartfelt note of reflection and makes retirement official after UFC 313 loss: "I made it in a video game"

Jalin Turner recently made an official retirement post following his loss at UFC 313. Turner looked back on his MMA journey and expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him during his time in the UFC.

Turner took on emerging contender Ignacio Bahamondes in a lightweight bout on the main card of UFC 313 this past weekend at the T-Mobile Arena. The American entered the fight with a loss against Renato Moicano at UFC 300. Meanwhile, Bahamondes was coming off an opening round knockout win over Manuel Torres at UFC 306.

The bout quickly went to the ground, and Bahamondes submitted Turner via a triangle choke in the opening round. In the aftermath, 'The Tarantula' revealed that it was his final MMA appearance. Turner (14-9) took part in 13 UFC fights and finished with a 7-6 record in the promotion.

In a recent Instagram post, Turner made his retirement official, writing:

''Thank you for all the love and support! I started training mma at 18 in 2013 I started training in my backyard, a SoCal, LA born, IE raised kid with no path and a big dream. God opened the door to MMA when I didn’t know where else to go. I gave myself 4 years to fight in a big promotion and I did then the 5th year I got to the UFC in 2018. Made it to the top 10 in the toughest division. I made it in a video game. Looking back It doesn’t feel real. I love you all.''

Turner continued:

''I’m sorry I lost my focus and fire earlier than ever expected. 29 years young time is on my good side. I wish I could reply to everyone’s messages. Just know all the positivity has helped me more than you all know I appreciate it all! Things can change …We’ll see what the future holds.''

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Ignacio Bahamondes opens up about Jalin Turner's retirement

Ignacio Bahamondes was unhappy with Jalin Turner hanging up his gloves after their matchup at UFC 313.

During the post-fight press conference, Bahamondes expressed his sadness and disclosed their interaction, saying:

''The truth is that it broke my heart because he told me that he was going to retire, that he was thinking about retiring because it no longer felt the same way, and he just didn’t feel it in his heart to fight...I also invited him to our gym. He can come and train whenever he wants, and we’ll help him.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Check out Ignacio Bahamondes' full comments below: