Standing out in the crowded lightweight field is difficult; just ask Turner.
Over his last four fights, the 27-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alum has posted four wins, all by finish, all before the start of the third round. For his career, the gangly and aptly nicknamed “Tarantula” has a 100-percent finishing rate, collecting a dozen stoppages against five career setbacks heading into his meeting with Brad Riddell on Saturday.
Turner is one of those fighters that those who are plugged all the way into the sport were hearing about several years ago when he was just getting started and spending time with the Jackson-Wink crew in Albuquerque. He started his career by going 4-3 in his first seven fights, but even when he started putting it together a little bit, it wasn’t quite enough to get him a chance to compete in the Octagon, as he didn’t get a contract following his DWCS win over Max Mustaki on Season Two.
But a few months later, Turner accepted a short notice fight at welterweight against Vicente Luque, which he lost in the first round. However, it helped him get a foot in the door in the UFC. He rebounded with a win over Callan Potter in Australia, stumbled in a bout against Matt Frevola, and has been lights out since, extending his winning streak to four with a finish of Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 272 in March.
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Turner is long, powerful, and clearly has killer finishing instincts, plus he’s unbeaten in three UFC appearances opposite ANZAC fighters, all of which will be put to the test this weekend against New Zealand’s Riddell.
“Quake” forced his way into the Top 15 with a win over Drew Dober last June but was knocked out of the rankings following a third-round stoppage loss to Rafael Fiziev towards the end of the year. He’s a tough out who tends to get better as the fight progresses, and has spent years training alongside Adesanya, so he knows a thing or two about dealing with tall, rangy strikers.
This is the kind of test Turner’s recent results merit, and it will be interesting to see if he can continue earning top marks and moving forward in the lightweight division this weekend. It’s a little too early to affix the “dark horse” label to him, but if he stops Riddell on Saturday, Turner will definitely be deserving of that designation.
