Why does Jalin Turner use 'The Tarantula' nickname? The story of how the UFC fighter went from being arachnophobic to weighing in holding a spider

Jalin Turner is often referred to as 'The Tarantula' in the UFC. It's a moniker that got associated with him in an intriguing fashion, with a story that many have deemed to be truly inspiring. Presently, Turner is set to make his much-awaited return to the octagon.

The 29-year-old American fighter is booked to face Chile's Ignacio Bahamondes in a lightweight match next. Their fight will transpire on the star-studded UFC 313 event, which goes down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8, 2025.

In the build-up to the event, Turner's nickname and the history behind it have once again come to the fore in fight fans' debates and discussions.

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Why does Jalin Turner use 'The Tarantula' nickname?

Jalin Turner has been quite vocal about his journey of facing his fears in the combat sports realm and beyond. As reported by MMA Fighting in 2018, Turner claimed that he once owned over 200 tarantulas. He's also had reptiles, including snakes, as pets.

Additionally, on UFC Connected's 'Fighter Focus' edition in 2022, the UFC and Turner provided fight fans with some insight into his motivational story of combating arachnophobia, which is an extreme/irrational fear of spiders.

Turner explained that uncomfortable situations sculpt you and build character. Tracing the origins of how he'd become an arachnophobic/arachnophobe, he underlined that fears are mostly projected from your experiences with your parents and friends:

"I think I was about 16. I had friends. They didn't like spiders. They don't like tarantulas. And, like, that energy kind of projected onto me. And, you know, to realize that I became like a bit arachnophobic was kind of like, 'Oh, shoot.'"

Jalin Turner suggested that he didn't want to live with that fear, so he went to a pet store and bought a tarantula. It eventually helped him go from being an arachnophobe to weighing in with a tarantula in hand for his 165-pound catchweight bout against Brok Weaver for UFC Vegas 10 (Sept. 12, 2020). He later bested Weaver via submission.

Check out Jalin Turner's tarantula weigh-in below:

Elsewhere on UFC Connected, Jalin Turner displayed his tarantula pet, expounding upon some of its basic needs and alluding to his respect for tarantulas while deeming them as tame and handleable pets. He further drew parallels between getting his first tarantula and going to the gym, hinting at how both tasks entailed overcoming one's fears.

Expounding upon why he uses 'The Tarantula' nickname, Turner highlighted his being a fan of MMA great Anderson 'The Spider' Silva. Hailing the ex-UFC middleweight champion, he said:

"The nickname, 'The Tarantula,' that was like the first thing that popped into my head when I was trying to figure out a nickname. You know, Anderson Silva was already a 'Spider.' He was my favorite fighter. So I was like, well, 'The Tarantula' would be a cool spin-off. They started calling me that around the gym, and it just stuck."

Check out Jalin Turner's comments below (1:25 and 4:20):