It looks like Jalin Turner is getting a high profile replacement after Dan Hooker was forced from their UFC 285 PPV bout due to injury.
The UFC looks to have a top quality PPV brewing for next month in Las Vegas. Headlined by the heavyweight debut of former LHW champ Jon Jones, taking on Ciryl Gane for Francis Ngannou’s vacated strap, the card is also set to feature Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight title against Alexa Grasso and a quality welterweight bout between Geoff Neal & Shavkat Rakhmonov.
One surefire action fight, however, will be missing. A lightweight battle between top ranked fighters Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner. The two lanky 155ers were poised for a high-octane striking showdown—unfortunately derailed after Hooker suffered a broken hand in training. Fortunately, it looks like fight fans won’t be seeing a major downgrade in card quality for the cancellation. FanSided reports that #7 ranked Mateusz Gamrot is stepping in for Hooker to take on the #10 ranked Turner. Feels like something of a rare day in the UFC, when a top 10 ranked fighter is willing to look down the rankings for an opportunity.
In part that’s likely because Gamrot still needs to really cement his claim to a spot among the division’s best. Following a shocking upset loss to Guram Kutateladze in his UFC debut, the former KSW champ put together four straight victories to climb into the top 10, the biggest of which was a widely contested unanimous decision over hot prospect Arman Tsarukyan. Following that victory, Gamrot took a swing at the contender’s circle with a bout against Beneil Dariush at UFC 280—losing clearly and decisively on all three judges scorecards. A victory over Turner for the 32-year-old might just be exactly what he needs to prime himself for another chance at an opponent in the top 5.
Much like Gamrot (although with much lower expectations, coming off the American regional scene), Turner’s introduction to the UFC was a rough one. Fighting up at welterweight for a short notice booking against Vicente Luque in his debut, Turner found himself on the wrong end of a first round knockout to the power-punching Brazilian. A victory over Callan Potter the following year was quickly followed by a hard loss to Matt Frevola, putting turner at just 1-2 in the UFC and 8-5 for his career. That’s the last time Turner tasted defeat.
The ‘Tarantula’ is 5-0 since his loss to Frevola in 2019, highlighted by a recent first round submission win over fan-favorite action fighter Brad Riddell. His success has put him among the cream of the crop according to the UFC rankings panel, and this bout with Gamrot looks like an excellent opportunity to test his quality.
UFC 285 takes place on March 4th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, NV. Alongside the title fights at the top of the card, the event is also set to play host to the debut of middleweight super prospect Bo Nickal, taking on Jamie Pickett. Derek Brunson will defend his spot in the middleweight top 5 further down the undercard.