Most combat sports athletes have a nickname attached to them. While some can be very easy for the fans to interpret, there are often those that people find hard to comprehend. One of those fighters is Jalin Turner, who will be taking on Renato Moicano at UFC 300. Today, we will take a look at the real reason why he’s called ‘The Tarantula’.

Jalin Turner has been associated with the UFC since 2018. He rose through Dana White‘s Contender Series. Since then, Turner’s racked up a record of 7 wins and 4 losses in the UFC. Meanwhile, today we are here to uncover why he chose to adopt the nickname based on an eight-legged creature. Let’s take a look at that front.

Why is Jalin Turner called ‘The Tarantula’?

The 28-year-old lightweight fighter was an arachnophobic during his younger years. But he wanted to overcome that fear and, as a result, Jalin Turner started to collect tarantulas. He opened up about it during an exclusive interview with ‘MMA Fighting‘ and made some stunning revelations.

The interview took place days before his UFC debut at UFC 229 against Vicente Luque. Jalin Turner revealed he had a lot of tarantulas in his collection. He said, “I actually own tarantulas.” Turner also revealed that at one point in his life, he had a collection of up to 200 tarantulas.

“I have a little collection going on right now. I used to have upwards of 200 at one point in my life,” added the light fighter. 200 spiders seem to be an absurd amount for a collector, but Turner had always been a fan of nature. He confessed that he was a big fan of the Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist, Steve Irwin.

“I’ve always been a nature boy. I grew up watching Steve Irwin, so my mom’s been used to it pretty much my whole life,” Jalin Turner added. While we have come to realize the reason behind his nickname, the 28-year-old is now gearing up for his upcoming fight against Bobby Green.

‘The Tarantula’ last fight against Bobby Green at UFC Austin

The UFC returned to Austin, Texas, for yet another Fight Night event featuring Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan in the main event.  Jalin Turner and Bobby Green battled each other in the co-main event with the former coming out victorious with a first round KO of Green. Prior to this ‘The Tarantula’s last fight was an all-out war when he took on Dan Hooker. Unfortunately, ‘The Hangman’ came out on top with a split decision win and handed Turner his second loss in a row at UFC 290.

Read More: Disregarding Dana White’s Decision, LW Star Refuses to Acknowledge Jalin Turner’s Short Notice Announcement Against Bobby Green

Turner now has the chance to add on to his previous win on the biggest of stages at UFC 300. Headlined by Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill,  the lightweight could find himself making strides in the lightweight division if he can pull a win over the tricky Moicano. Do you think Turner can pull a win at UFC 300?

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