UFC 266: Jalin Turner Had to Sell Bulk of Tarantula Collection After Sitting Out a Year

Las Vegas, NV — Lightweight Jalin Turner returned to the octagon for the first time in a year at UFC 266, and it’s safe to say he’s happy with the result.

“I am very happy with my performance. Worked very hard on that,” he said following his first-round submission of the previously undefeated Uros Medic. “I didn’t expect any less of myself.”

He had expected exactly that sort of fight ahead of time, that sort of domination. “Every interview I had, I said I would,” stated Turner (11-5). “Where ever the fight went, I was going to be successful.”

There’s a reason for that confidence. Since dropping his debut at UFC 229, the biggest UFC event of all time, Turner is 4-1, and currently rides a three-fight win streak.

“I debuted here, three years ago, and I f*cking lost,” he said in reference to Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. “And I came in here, and I wanted to avenge myself at my weight class, and show everybody that I belong here.”

Might the moment have gotten to Medic, who was fighting in front of fans for the first time in his UFC career? Turner agreed that was the case. “Yup, I seen it as soon as we stepped into the octagon. I seen that he was nervous.”

Turner is nicknamed “The Tarantula” for good reason: he collects them. But with a year away from fighting, in part due to injury, he unfortunately had to sell off the bulk of his collection just to get by.

His prized Melanie, who he once brought to a UFC weigh-in, is doing well. Outside of that, “Actually I had to cut down, I sold a lot, because I ain’t fought in a year. I had to make ends meet. I sold over twenty tarantulas, so I only have four right now.”

If you’re wondering what a tarantula goes for in terms of resale value, “depends on the species, depends on how old it is, depends on the sex,” Turner explained. Females, and more rare types, go from between $100 and $400, even up to $800, he revealed. And you can sell them everywhere from Craigslist to Reptile shows.

In his time off, Turner has also dabbled in acting, appearing in Sicatriz, a move scripted by fellow MMA fighter Kristi Lopez. But his dream role? That’s something else entirely. “I want to be Michael Myers. He’s my favorite. I’ve always wanted to play a role like that. Or Blade. Blade is hard. It’d be like, I ain’t gonna do no Wesley Snipes sh*t, but I want a role like that.”

Watch the full UFC 266 post-fight press scrum with Jalin Turner above. More coverage of the event can be found below.