UFC lightweight Jalin Turner expects to showcase his full grappling capabilities against Mateusz Gamrot.
Turner was originally set to take on Dan Hooker as part of UFC 285, but the Australian was forced out due to injury. Instead, Turner will take on Poland’s Gamrot, who has proven himself as one of the best talents in the 155lb division through his six fights with the promotion.
Jalin Turner is up for the test
Gamrot is a tough draw for just about anyone, but the 6’3 Turner is just thankful to remain on the upcoming pay-per-view card.
“I’m just happy he [Gamrot] stepped up,” Turner said talking to MMAJunkie. “I wanted to stay on the card, you know I could of sat back and waited for somebody else on another card, but I just wanted to stay on 285.“
“He’s the only one that stepped up, nobody else wanted to fight me on this card, they didn’t want that three week notice fight, so I took the challenge.”
Gamrot brings with him championship experience, solid striking, and elite-level grappling, something which Turner is expecting the 32-year-old to implement, but says he’s ready to show off his own skills.
“He’s [Gamrot] a good opponent, he’s going to try to shoot, try to wrestle. I already kind of expected that from Dan a little bit so I was a little bit prepared. It’s just another fight, I’m ready to take on whoever wants to step up and I will showcase it every time.”
Gamrot is coming off a loss to Beneil Dariush but before this had compiled an impressive four-fight win streak capped off with a win over Arman Tsarukyan.
Since his 2019 loss to Matt Frevola in 2019, Turner has amassed a five-fight winning streak, all coming by stoppage, most recently submitting Brad Riddell on the UFC 276 card.
Who wins, Jalin Turner or Matuesz Gamrot?