Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 313, we will see an absolute banger in the lightweight division with a spot in the rankings on the line. 13th ranked Jalin Turner (14-8) will look to defend his ranking against the surging Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5).
Starting with Bahamondes, he earned a contract on The Contender Series back in 2020. He lost a split decision in his octagon debut before winning three in a row. After another decision loss, he’s bounced back with back-to-back knockouts. Now, he’ll look to take the ranking away from Jalin Turner.
After losing a decision back in 2019, Jalin Turner won five fights in a row leading him to a fight with Mateusz Gamrot in 2023. He lost a split decision and then lost another split decision in a war against Dan Hooker. After that, he knocked out King Green before nearly knocking out Renato Moicano at UFC 300. His record shows 1-3 in his last four, but he easily could’ve been 4-0.
UFC 313 Prediction
I think we are going to see a helluva matchup tomorrow night between two very technical and powerful strikers. For Jalin Turner, I think he’s so much better than his record shows. Turner has legit power and that’s been on full display. However, for him, he’s going to need to finish this fight early.
If this fight becomes a dog fight and it drags into the second and third round, I like Bahamondes in that spot. Bahamondes has never been stopped by strikes but if there’s ever anyone who is really going to test his chin, it’s going to be Jalin Turner.
I’m not ready to give up on Jalin Turner just yet. He’s also been in there with some of the best while Bahamondes is a little unproven against top level competition. I’m not entirely sure that Turner gets a finish at UFC 313, but I think he does enough damage to get at least two of the three rounds.
Prediction: Jalin Turner by Decision