Jalin Turner has finished all his pro wins, but he will be facing a man who’s never been stopped at UFC on ESPN+ 34.
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] has finished all his professional wins, but he will be facing a man who’s never been stopped in his next fight.
Turner (9-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) faces [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 34 on Saturday, which will take place at the UFC Apex and stream live on ESPN+.
Moises has four blemishes on his record, but all his losses have been by decision. So while Turner is expecting another stoppage win, he knows it won’t be easy.
“I always love calling out my first-round finish, but he’s durable,” Turner told MMA Junkie. “He hasn’t been finished, so I do wanna test that and see if I can finish him in the first round, but first round, third round, I’m ready for whatever comes to the table. I’m ready to go five rounds if need be. First round is what I’m predicting, but I’m ready to go the full 15 (minutes).”
Both men are in a similar position, having split their last four appearances. Turner has aspirations of climbing the lightweight ranks and sees Moises (13-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) as the right fight to propel him one step forward.
“I was willing to fight whoever,” Turner said. “I just wanted to get a fight in. I didn’t care who it was, what style it was. I told my manager just give me a name, I don’t care who. They throw Thiago at me; it is a good fight. I feel like it’s a who-wants-to-go-up-the-ladder type of fight between me and him. We’re both up and down in the UFC, so now it’s time to see who’s going to make it up to that next level.”
Most of Moises’ wins have come by submission. He’s coming off a first-round heel-hook finish of Michael Johnson in May, and Turner expects him to try and drag the fight to the mat.
“I think he’s going to try and stay on the ground. He’s gonna try and take it there no doubt,” Turner said. “If he does partake in the stand-up battle, I don’t think it’s gonna stay there pretty long. He’s probably not gonna enjoy being hit by somebody with a seven-inch reach advantage against him, so he’s gonna resort to what he knows best and what he feels is gonna win him the fight. All that is expected, and I’m prepared for all of that.”
Fabricio Werdum and Paul Craig were among those who name-dropped their preferred next opponents at UFC on ESPN 14 in Abu Dhabi.
Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.
So after Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event in Abu Dhabi, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.
* * * * *
First up, let’s take a look at the preliminary card …
Nathaniel Wood
Wants to fight: [autotag]John Dodson[/autotag]
The callout: “I’d love to come back here, it’s been an absolutely amazing experience. If the UFC do keep this venue here up and running, I’d love to get back on here. I’d like a rematch with John Dodson at some point, but I understand that (the matchmakers) won’t give that to me necessarily, so just whoever the matchmakers want me to fight, I’ll take whoever the UFC give me.”
The reality: [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] knows that he’s unlikely to get a rematch with John Dodson straight away, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to plant the seed in the matchmakers’ minds. The Brit was set to face undefeated debutant Umar Nurmagomedov on “Fight Island” but the death of his uncle – and father of cousin Khabib – Abdulmanap meant he withdrew from the event. Wood stayed on the card and showed off his evolving striking game against game debutant John Castaneda. Wood will have to take on, and beat, more established opposition before he can get his rematch, but after another performance full of positives, the Brit is trending in the right direction again.
Next up: Rising featherweight targets fellow hot prospect.
All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC Auckland, which saw Dan Hooker beat Paul Felder in the main event.
The UFC made its third visit to New Zealand on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 26. The 12-fight card took place at Spark Arena in Auckland and streamed entirely on ESPN+.
In the main event, [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) elevated his status as a lightweight contender when he edged out a memorable “Fight of the Night” clash with [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) by split decision in front of his hometown fans.
The headliner wasn’t the only fight to produce notable results, though. For more, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 26.
* * * *
General
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $137,000.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 at the event.
Hooker, Felder, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] and [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 26 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 drew an announced attendance of 10,025 for a live gate of $1,239,625.
Betting favorites went 8-4 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 4-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 1:59:19.
Main card
Dan Hooker
Hooker improved to 7-1 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Felder has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Crute (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned eight of his 11 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his UFC wins.
Crute became the fifth fighter in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by Kimura. Krzysztof Soszynski, Rani Yahya, Frank Mir and George Sotiropoulos also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Oleksiejczuk has suffered both of his UFC losses by submission.
Yan Xiaonan
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) improved to 9-0 (with one no contest) since returning from a nearly five-year layoff in July 2015.
Xiaonan’s five-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is tied with Tatiana Suarez for the longest active streak in the division.
Xiaonan has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (12-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights.
De Lima improved to 3-1 in the UFC at heavyweight.
De Lima has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 14 of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Preliminary card
Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar
[autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Aguilar has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by knockout.
[autotag]Joshua Culibao[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his eight-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) improved to 5-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews has earned four of his five UFC welterweight victories by decision.
[autotag]Emil Meek[/autotag]’s (9-5-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2016.
Meek has been taken down 21 times in his four UFC appearances.
Meek has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Callan Potter[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered all nine of his career losses by stoppage.
Song Kenan has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four UFC wins.
[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-11-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered eight of his 11 career losses by decision. That includes both of his UFC defeats.
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) became the first to earn two UFC victories in 2020.
Hill improved to 6-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jessica Andrade for second most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (nine).
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of her career.
[autotag]Cachoeira[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) snapped her three-fight losing skid for her first victory since September 2017.
Cachoeira’s 40-second knockout marked the fastest stoppage in UFC women’s flyweight history.
[autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag]’s (3-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since December 2017.
Dobson suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $130,000.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 took place Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The entire card streamed ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN+ 26 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event in Auckland, New Zealand.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC on ESPN+ 26 went with as their backing tracks in Auckland, New Zealand.
Not every nickname has a good story behind, but Jalin Turner’s “The Tarantula” does.
Not every nickname has a good story behind it, but [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]’s does.
For “The Tarantula,” it’s simple. The UFC lightweight owns spiders – and has for quite some time. However, his collection is not what it used to be. Originally, Turner (8-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) purchased his first spider in order to conquer his fear of the eight-legged creatures.
Before long, his arachnophobia turned into an addiction. At one point, Turner’s collection expanded to more than 200 spiders. He began shopping, exchanging, and breeding them.
These days, his collection has dwindled. However, Turner hopes to return his colony to its prime form after his UFC on ESPN+ 26 fight Saturday against Josh Culibao.
“I have three right now,” Turner told MMA Junkie. “I used to have a little bit of a fear of spiders, and I just got over it by buying a pet tarantula. I was like, ‘Let me just try this out and see how it is.’ It broke my fear, it became a super cool pet, and I fell in love with it. Then I was like, ‘Man, I want to get more.’
“Honestly, it became such a strong hobby. I started trading them, selling them, and breeding them. I made money off of them for a while, but it became difficult with training – just having so many. I had up to like 200-plus at one point. I just focused on fighting and cut my collection down. After this fight, I want to get some more.”
Rebuilding his collection will seem even sweeter if he can pick up a victory Saturday night. The lengthy California-based fighter originally was slated to fight Jamie Mullarkey at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, but he now faces short-notice replacement Culibao (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
The fight marks the first time Turner has competed since having knee surgery. While the recovery process was trying, Turner thinks it played right into him. He’s been trying to improve his mental toughness.
“It tested me a little bit, you know?” Turner said. “Not too much because it wasn’t that bad of a layoff. I was still able to bounce around and do normal things, but I always want to be in the gym. I always want to be training. I always want to be doing something active. I want to focus more on my mental strength than my physical strength, so that helped me out a little bit.”
Turner thinks his size advantage will be insurmountable for Culibao, who usually competes at featherweight. Turner expects Culibao to become flustered and make a mistake. That’s when, Turner said, he’ll pounce.
“He’s the teammate of Mullarkey, who I was originally supposed to fight,” Turner said. “I’m sure (Culibao) was training with him, helping him get ready anyways. I think he’s in shape and ready to go. … I see a lot of tactical movement. I see a lot of sticking and moving. I see him getting desperate, doing something crazy, and me taking his head off.”
UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The event streams on ESPN+.
The undefeated Australia-based featherweight will move up to 155 pounds for his promotional debut when he takes on [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 26.
A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking on Wednesday. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Turner (8-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) originally was supposed to fight Jamie Mullarkey, who recently withdrew due to injury. Turner looks to get back in the win column after dropping a decision to Matt Frevola at UFC 236 in April.
Instead of Mullarkey, Turner will face off against Culibao (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Many believe Culibao to be the best 145 pounder on the Australia-New Zealand regional scene. The 25-year-old has five TKOs and three decisions in eight victories. He most recently competed in March.
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UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The card streams on ESPN+.
Australian lightweight Jamie Mullarkey has been forced to withdraw from UFC on ESPN+ 26.
Australian lightweight [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] has been forced to withdraw from UFC on ESPN+ 26.
MMA Junkie today confirmed with UFC officials that injury has forced Mullarkey (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) out of the event, which takes place Feb. 22 (Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. A search is now underway for a new opponent for [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC).
Turner was in action most recently in April, suffering a disappointing decision loss to Matt Frevola. That followed a scintillating 53-second TKO of Callan Potter at February’s UFC 234 in Australia. “The Tarantula” now looks for a new opponent in his return to action after 10 months on the sidelines.
A timetable for Mullarkey’s return wasn’t immediately established.
UFC Auckland is just about filled after this latest batch of three fights announced.
Three more bouts have been made official for UFC on ESPN+ 26
[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will make a quick turnaround when he takes on [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a flyweight bout. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup after an initial report from Stuff New Zealand.
City Kickboxing’s Kara-France was defeated by Brandon Moreno at UFC 245 earlier this month, snapping his eight-fight winning streak. Eager to compete at home, Kara-France will get his wish when he takes on Hawaii’s Nam.
Nam stepped in on short notice in his UFC debut in September to replace an injured Alex Perez and take on top contender Sergio Pettis. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
[lawrence-related id=468571,467562]
Two more Australian fighters will compete at UFC Auckland, as [autotag]Callan Potter[/autotag] (18-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC). These bouts were reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Feb. 22 (Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is set to be streamed live on ESPN+.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 26 card includes:
