Payton Talbott

Payton Talbott (born September 9, 1998) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). An undefeated professional competitor since 2021, he earned his contract with the major promotion after going through Dana White's Contender Series.

Early life
Payton Anthony Talbott was born on September 9, 1998 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and grew up in Reno, Nevada where he still lives. Of partial African American and Choctaw descent, his mom is a plastic surgeon and he has four siblings: one sister and three brothers. Before discovering mixed martial arts, Talbott played football and competitively wrestled while a student at Reno High School.

Early career
In 2017, Talbott started training in mixed martial arts at the Reno Academy of Combat. He chose to begin mixed martial arts classes when he saw Conor McGregor’s highlights while sitting at a restaurant, having stopped sports for his college studies. After seven to eight months of training, his coaches proposed to him to made his amateur debut. Talbott then faced all his first opponents in several amateur King of the Cage: Future Legends events from March 2018 to August 2021. He became a two-time KOTC Amateur Bantamweight Champion during his amateur run before turning professional with a total 5–0 amateur record and a 100% finish rate.

Talbott made his professional debut on November 27, 2021, at FirePower 3: Magnum Force in Sacramento, California and finished his opponent in the second round. After a second technical knockout win at FirePower 4: Sudden Impact, he made his third fight at Urijah Faber's A1 Combat and won the A1 Combat Bantamweight Championship on May 28, 2022 in Wheatland, California, beating Hector Fajardo by technical knockout in the second round. He then successfully defended his title twice and won both fights via technical knockout. First, he finished Anthony Jimenez with a flying knee and punches in the second round on October 22, 2022. Talbott then defeated Cristhian Rivas with punches and elbow strikes in round three on March 18, 2023 to earn his fifth knockout win as a professional.

Dana White’s Contender Series
On August 8, 2023, Talbott faced Reyes Cortez Jr. on Dana White's Contender Series: Season 7, Week 1. He outstriked Cortez in rounds 2 and 3 by putting forward pressure. Landing several hooks, jabs and knees, he finished the fight with 145 significant strikes. Talbott then won the fight via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring 29–28 and the two last rounds for him. His victory earned him the promised contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC and Dana White's Contender Series president Dana White called him an "absolute predator" after the fight where he set a record for significant strikes landed by a bantamweight.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Talbott then made his promotional debut on November 18, 2023, facing Nick Aguirre at UFC Fight Night 232. After a praised and dominating performance, he managed to win the fight by submission in the third round via a rear-naked choke.

For his second bout in the UFC, he faced South African prospect Cameron Saaiman on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. He ended up winning the fight by technical knockout in round two. After all three judges scored the round one 10–9 for Talbott, he knocked his opponent down early in the second round and finished him via ground-and-pound. This victory earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award in his career and was acclaimed by pundits as well as former UFC champions Aljamain Sterling and Jamahal Hill.

Still undefeated with a professional finish rate of 88%, Talbott faced French-Algerian fighter Yanis Ghemmouri on June 29, 2024, at UFC 303. He won the fight via knockout in an expeditious manner after only 19 seconds in the first round, knocking Ghemmouri down with a straight right and finishing him with a few punches on the ground. This win earned him another Performance of the Night award.

Fighting style
Talbott is 5 ft with a reach of 70.5 in. Fighting in the bantamweight division with upper limit at 135 lb, Talbott's walk-around natural weight is about 155 - 160 lb. He prefers to stand and strike as opposed to fight on the ground, jabs being his favorite striking technique. In particular, he cited UFC legend Max Holloway and International Boxing Hall of Famer Mike Tyson as inspirations. He primarily fights out of the orthodox stance. Talking about his style, he said: "My striking is extremely adaptable. It’s not just good and it’s not just high volume. I adapt based on what my opponent does very well. I’m very comfortable throwing when I’m uncomfortable. That, along with my cardio, makes it a huge challenge for people."

Personal life
Talbott graduated from the University of Nevada with a bachelor's degree majoring in psychology and minoring in music in 2022. He became interested in and studied music therapy to see how music can help people who are struggling with mental illnesses. Starting out wanting to study clinical psychology, he then focused on neuroscience. While his mixed martial arts career had started when he was still in college, he didn’t choose to take it up as a career until he was 2–0 as a pro.

Talbott is a skateboard enthusiast and passionate about music but wasn't a fan of mixed martial arts nor the UFC until he was a high school senior. He began playing the guitar as a child after trying the trombone and then taught himself to play the violin. He has a vinyl record collection that includes The Doors, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Tupac Shakur and the Bee Gees. Having a YouTube channel where he posts experimental videos to promote his career and fights, he told to Ariel Helwani in The MMA Hour that he edits those himself with a friend. He also loves cliff jumping, climbing and pole dancing. His mom and sister are pole fitness instructors. In June 2024, he met famous skateboarder and his childhood icon Tony Hawk.

He still works as a barista besides his sporting career and had plans of becoming a firefighter.

Professional

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri
 * Third fastest knockout/finish in UFC Bantamweight division history (0:19) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri
 * Urijah Faber's A1 Combat
 * A1 Combat Bantamweight Championship (One time)
 * Two successful title defenses

Amateur

 * King of the Cage
 * KOTC Amateur Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record
Source:

Amateur record
Source: