It’s almost the end of the calendar year, which means that MMA fans around the world will soon begin to ponder the ‘Breakout Star of 2024’ – and we’d like to throw Payton Talbott’s name into the hat.
The undefeated American has scored two fabulous finishes this year, both of which earned him a sweet $50K Performance of the Night bonus; and you better believe that the popular bantamweight aims to continue that hot streak in 2025.
Payton Talbott’s next fight confirmed for UFC 311 against veteran
As confirmed by the UFC, and as shared via their official Instagram page, bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott will make his return on January 18, 2025, against 23-fight veteran, Raoni Barcelos.
That January 18, 2025, card will be a PPV event (UFC 311) hosted at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is rumored to be headlined by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev against Arman Tsarukyan.
After becoming a champion himself in Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat series, Talbott burst onto the global scene in late 2023 and following a successful venture on Dana White’s Contender Series, made his promotional debut last November.
Three tough opponents have been put in Talbott’s way since that Contender Series win; three tough opponents who he’s left in his wake with none of those fighters making it to the judges’ scorecards.
Three fights, three wins, three finishes – a third-round RNC of Nick Aguirre, followed by a second-round KO of Cameron Saaiman and a first-round KO of Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC 303.
It’s been a tremendous start to his UFC tenure but his next opponent, Raoni Barcelos, will be the toughest test of his fledgling career to date with 23 fights as a professional and a solid 7-4 record in the promotion.
Barcelos bounced back from two consecutive defeats with an impressive third-round submission of Christian Quinonez back in February 2024; however, already at 37 years old, this seems like a layup fight for the superstar-in-the-making.
UFC 311 is starting to take shape with 11 bouts rumored to feature
According to the UFC 311 webpage, only one fight has been officially announced by the promotion – that being Karol Rosa vs Ailin Perez.
However, the Tapology event page claims that a full 11 fights have either been rumored or reported to have been made for that first PVP of 2025, including Payton Talbott vs Raoni Barcelos.
- Islam Makhachev vs Arman Tsarukyan*
- Jiri Prochazka vs Jamahal Hill
- Jailton Almeida vs Serghei Spivac
- Rinya Nakamura vs Muin Gafurov
- Johnny Walker vs Bogdan Guskov
- Zach Reese vs Sedriques Dumas
- Payton Talbott vs Raoni Barcelos
- Ricky Turcios vs Benardo Sopaj
- Grant Dawson vs Diego Ferreira
- Kevin Holland vs Reinier de Ridder
The lightweight title showdown is only rumored at this time; although Arman Tsarukyan himself has recently stated that this will be officially announced within the coming weeks.