Ignacio Bahamondes has seen first hand what his team can produce with hard work and talent, and that is a UFC championship title.
Training alongside newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, Bahamondes (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has picked up plenty of inspiration to make his dream come to a reality. “La Jaula,” a 27-year-old title hopeful in the UFC’s lightweight division, gets his first big step towards the belt, as he takes on his first ever ranked opponent – Jalin Turner. The two battle it out on the main card of this Saturday’s UFC 313 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bahamondes is eager for the opportunity and is entering a fight more motivated than ever.
“Of course, of course, he showed me the path himself,” Bahamondes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish when asked if Muhammad has given him more motivation. “He showed me how it needs to be done, and he had the toughest path of them all. He had a way tougher path than anyone. A lot of people won UFC belts much easier than him. He had 10 consecutive wins and was without a title. That’s stupid.
“He showed me that with pure hard work and consistency, I can make it, too. It’s just a matter of time. I’m relaxed. I don’t want it tomorrow or next year. I just worry about doing things the right way, because if I keep doing things the way I’ve been doing them, I will get there, and I will be UFC champion.”
Bahamondes played a role in Muhammad’s training camp for his title winning performance against then champion Leon Edwards in July 2024. He was one of Muhammad’s main sparring partners at Valle Flow Striking.
The Chilean fighter, who doesn’t like toying around with UFC titles, remembers very well what it felt like told to hold an undisputed UFC title.
“The truth is that I’ve only touched one belt, and that was Belal’s, and only one time because I have a rule: I’ll never hold a UFC belt until it’s my own,” Bahamondes said. “Julianna (Peña)’s belt I did not touch, same with Yair (Rodriguez), but with Belal it was different, because he hit me every sparring session for that fight. I told him, ‘I’m part of this victory. I don’t want a picture with it. I just want to hold it and look at it.’ So I grabbed it, I felt how much it weighed, and I gave it back to him.”
The feeling of holding a UFC title did not feel foreign to Bahamondes. He’s envisioned himself as UFC champion and envisioned himself beating Turner (14-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) this Saturday, and taking a spot in the UFC official lightweight rankings.
“You know, when I grabbed it, it felt like it belonged, I don’t know,” Bahamondes said. “I felt like it was mine. I didn’t feel like it was something new, like when someone returns your phone. It felt very normal, so let’s make it happen.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
Check out the Hablemos MMA YouTube channel for Spanish-language videos and interviews with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.
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Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes Prediction, Pick, Odds for UFC 313
Jalin Turner (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Check out my Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes predictions, picks, and odds for UFC 313 on Saturday, March 8
There is an abundance of intriguing striking matchups on the UFC 313 main card, but none can claim to provide more potential excitement than the battle between two lightweights under 30. Ignacio Bahamondes and Jalin Turner mirror each other in several ways, and now matchmaking has provided a perfect test for both men in what oddsmakers see as a true toss-up scrap.
Here’s my Turner vs. Bahamondes prediction.
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Both Bahamondes and Turner bring high-level kickboxing to the octagon, and both men are unlikely to face another fighter in their career taller than their opponent on Saturday night. Insanely long and tall for the 155 pound division, both fighters are listed at 6’3, while Turner will enjoy a 2 inch reach advantage. Each has the innate ability to seamlessly switch stances and attack from what would be out of position for a normal fighter, striking with a fluidity rarely seen..
It’s not often you see two fighters matched up with this much experience, as they both have provided numerous thrilling moments at the UFC already, while simultaneously still clearly in their primes as prospects. The main separator between these two fighters is undoubtedly the level of competition each have had to deal with up to this point in their respective careers.
Jalin Turner has already stepped inside the octagon with several of the divisions’ top fighters, taking on a wide-range of styles that have tested every area of his game. Currently, Turner is remembered most recently for not following up on his potential knockout victory at UF C300 last April over Renato Moicano – a victory in which would have catapulted his stardom to true contender status.
Instead, you can easily make the argument Turner will now take a step down in competition against a fighter yet to have cracked the lightweight rankings, something each of Turner’s last five opponents had accomplished.
While Bahamondes has been impressive in both the way he has won fights and the improvements he has displayed throughout his career, we can only look at one fight to point to as a litmus test against top competition, a unanimous decision loss to Ludovit Klein. Klein, a southpaw like Turner, timed a perfect step in left hand that badly hurt Bahamondes in round one, never looking back from there en route to victory.
This moment is particularly important because Jalin Turner is a very powerful striker, and his best punch is his straight left in which he unleashes with lightning speed. For as long as Bahamondes is, he still lunges into range at times. It’s fair to question how his durability will hold up against the upper-echelon of the lightweight division, as those type of strikers have the ability to land perfectly timed counter strikes.
Oddsmakers are implying a 60% chance this fight goes under 2.5 rounds, and I am in total agreement that power outweighs durability here from both sides of the matchup.
Jalin Turner has been in the cage with some of the most dangerous men the sport has to offer in his weight class, and they all have been greatly affected by his tremendous power in one way or another.
It’s pretty simple really – I am willing to take my chances at this price tag that Turner has the bigger moments on Saturday night, learning from his past mistakes, sealing the deal in impressive fashion.
John’s Pick: Play Jalin Turner ML +110 (DraftKings)
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Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes Odds, Prediction
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| Turner Odds | +110 |
| Bahamondes Odds | -130 |
| Over/Under | 1.5 Rounds (-175/+135) |
| Location | T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Bout Time | 11:15 p.m. ET |
| TV/Streaming | ESPN+ |
| UFC 313 odds via DraftKings as of Thursday. Bet on UFC 313 with our DraftKings promo code. | |
| Turner | Bahamondes | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 14-8 | 16-5 |
| Avg. Fight Time | 7:17 | 10:50 |
| Height | 6’3″ | 6’3″ |
| Weight (pounds) | 155 lbs. | 155 lbs. |
| Reach (inches) | 77″ | 75″ |
| Stance | Southpaw | Orthodox |
| Date of birth | 5/18/1995 | 8/27/1997 |
| Sig Strikes Per Min | 5.60 | 7.17 |
| SS Accuracy | 48% | 47% |
| SS Absorbed Per Min | 4.57 | 4.41 |
| SS Defense | 41% | 57% |
| Take Down Avg | 0.79 | 0.00 |
| TD Acc | 55% | 0% |
| TD Def | 74% | 85% |
| Submission Avg | 1.1 | 0.3 |
Ignacio Bahamondes Knew He’d Fight Turner Eventually
UFC lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes knew he would fight Jalin Turner at some point given the two fighter’s physical attributes, and he’ll show them off at UFC 313 on Saturday night.
“I love it. I love it. Since I got into the UFC I knew I was going to fight him. Just because he’s tall, I’m tall,” Bahamondes told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“Every day they were saying oh he’s the tallest in the division, and then the other commenter said oh what about Ignacio Bahamondes? He’s tall too. He’s 6’3 too! So I knew it was going to happen. I was ready for it.”
Bahamondes (16-5) actually wanted to fight Turner sooner than UFC 313.
“I thought it was going to be before. (At) Noche we asked for him. The fight (didn’t happen), but soon as I got out of the cage I talked to Sean Shelby,” he said.
“Told him Jalen Turner. He’s next. I want to be on the top 15”
Besides a big fight at UFC 313 Bahamondes has had a busy personal life. More specifically an addition to the Bahamondes family.
“My life is beautiful right now. I have my baby is going to be 7-months (on the) 9th. My wife she’s the best she’s the MVP of every camp. I’m so blessed I’m living my dream,” he said.
“Whenever I got back from Noche I think I didn’t (leave) the house for two weeks. It was so beautiful. It made me emotional because how much time I could spend with my kid. It’s something that men don’t talk (enough about). I always told me wife you got the hardest job in the world.”
Mom is the MVP, but dad life is for real.
“Nobody talk(s) about the dads. Like whenever they got to leave in the morning, leaving the kid and the wife, losing those beautiful times. (Missing) those beautiful times like whenever he started saying ‘papa’ whenever he started moving or doing something funny,” he said.
“It’s hard so having those times and being able to have time with my kid is the best thing that (ever) happened to me.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Ignacio Bahamondes above. He takes on Jalin Turner at UFC 313 on Saturday night.
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