Jalin Turner reflects on UFC 300 blunder during potential KO sequence: ‘My conscious kicked in!’

UFC lightweight contender Jalin Turner has explained why he believes he walked away from a potential finish of Renato Moicano at UFC 300.

Turner fell to Moicano in a wild UFC 300 clash last month in front of a packed house at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a back-and-forth battle for as long as the fight lasted before Moicano rallied in Round 2 to finish Turner by TKO.

In Round 1, it appears that Turner was destined for a first-round knockout when he landed a big right hand that dropped Moicano. Instead of following up with ground-and-pound, Turner walked away with his back turned, allowing Moicano to recover and get back up to his feet.

Turner’s blunder followed a controversial finish of Bobby Green in his last fight in December. He knocked out Green cold in a sequence that the referee arguably could’ve stopped earlier without Green sustaining unnecessary damage.

Jalin Turner: Bobby Green backlash led to UFC 300 blunder

During a recent episode of the JAXXON Podcast, Turner explained why he walked away from a knocked-down Moicano during the fight.

“My conscious kind of kicked in a little bit like mid-fight,” Turner said. “And people were tagging me in the interview [Bobby Green] did, and all this stuff and what he said. I was already thinking about that, and the backlash I got from that…even before the fight, I didn’t even get to that ‘Imma kill this dude’ instinct…and yeah, that’s what happened.”

Turner is expected to return to the Octagon later this year after losing three of his last four fights. Before the loss to Moicano and the knockout of Green, he suffered back-to-back split-decision defeats to Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot.

Turner’s UFC 300 mistake makes more sense when you understand his position after the controversial referee stoppage against Green. As he looks forward to his UFC comeback, he’s likely learned a lot after the Moicano fight.