Prior to his highly anticipated return to action this weekend at UFC 303, undefeated star Payton Talbott is set to make some enemies at 135lbs.
The 25-year-old American burst onto the scene in 2023 via Dana White’s Contender Series, with the global MMA community quick to board the hype train as he submitted Nick Aguirre in his UFC debut before earning a TKO over Cameron Saaiman earlier this year.
Whilst many young fighters might remain polite and respectful of their UFC peers, Payton Talbott is taking us down a different and rather comical route, firing humorous shots at not only the bantamweight champion but six of the division’s top contenders.
Payton Talbott takes shots at the entire UFC bantamweight division
If it wasn’t obvious from either his DWCS breakout or his two exceptional performances so far in the UFC, Payton Talbott might very well be the single most self-assured and self-confident fighter on the entire roster.
Typically, when a young and hungry prospect bursts onto the MMA scene, they remain relatively respectful of their more experienced and well-known peers; especially those around the top of a division, or fighters who have previously held a UFC title.
Not Talbott…
Speaking via the ESPN MMA social media channels, Talbott was asked to give a one-word answer as to what he thought about each of the top contenders in the bantamweight division.
And it’s safe to say that the undefeated phenom had some choice words for his colleagues atop the 135lb tree.
“[Sean O’Malley] Pretty Boy. [Merab Dvalishvili] Dumb, dumber than a box or rocks. [Cory Sandhagen] Salad Fingers…
“[Petr Yan] Hasbulla. [Marlon Vera] Owl – he looks like an owl. [Henry Cejudo] The Cringe King. [Jose Aldo] Mr Potato Head.”
With the video going viral online, former UFC fighter Alan Jouban was quick to respond to the clip, “Damn, and I had high hopes for him too, Who bad mouths Aldo?”
8-0 prospect wants one more fight before he tests the Top 15
Should Talbott earn yet another standout victory at UFC 303, MMA fans will undoubtedly demand to see him catapulted into the Top 15 and fast-tracked into a fight against one of the various superstars who he’d just insulted.
However, proof of a wise head on young shoulders, Talbott told the UFC News crew that he’d actually like one other fight on the fringes of the Top 15 before he makes his big push into the rankings.
“After this fight, depending on how good I look and how comfortable, I’d like to try to fight somebody just outside the Top 15 and try to get up in that ranking. I think it’s kind of unreasonable to ask too high, but right outside that Top 15 is where I think I belong right now.”
At just 25 years old, Talbott explained that “I want to be in the Top 15 and chill there for a while,” adding that he doesn’t want to “chill down here in the 40s; that’s lame. I’m trying to chill up there with the killers.”
UFC 303 will also be the undefeated prospect’s first fight in front of a packed arena, with his two previous bouts with the promotion being held at the Apex.
“I don’t know what to expect because I haven’t even been to a UFC event, but it means a lot to me because I think that is where I belong. From now on, I think that’s mainly where I’m going to compete, in front of a crowd.
“I’m gonna try to really enjoy it and remember it as a very pivotal moment in my career, which I hope it ends up being.”
Payton Talbott vs Yanis Ghemmouri goes down this Saturday live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, on the prelims of UFC 303: Pereira vs Prochazka 2.