Payton Talbott suffered a shocking loss to Raoni Barcelos on Saturday night.
The rising bantamweight star was joined by musician Frank Ocean before putting his perfect 9-0 record on the line at UFC 311.
Payton Talbott was a heavy favorite to take the win, but he was dominated from the very first bell at the Intuit Dome in California.
Ultimately, he slumped to a lopsided defeat 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 against Raoni Barcelos.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Payton Talbott dominated at UFC 311
Barcelos threatened to cause a major upset from the very first bell. The Brazilian scored an early takedown and immediately began locking up a back-naked choke.
Talbott did well to stay calm in his first taste of MMA adversity, but he failed to land any significant strikes and was dominated on the floor for almost the entire five-minute frame.
Barcelos continued to show he was the most competent wrestler in the second stanza, but he also proved he was a threat when Talbott got up.
After two rounds it was clear that Barcelos was ahead on the scorecards.
Talbott countered his opponent's wrestling attacks with a throw in round three. The 26-year-old attempted ground strikes before all hell broke loose as they got back to their feet.
Both men swung for the fences during a pulsating flurry that could have ended the fighter in either direction. Ultimately, Barcelos showed his maturity by ending the shootout and finishing the round in top position after landing another takedown.
Payton Talbott was checked by the champion
Talbott's poor performance capped off a tough week of fighting, which included a viral clash with Merab Dvalishvili.
The bantamweight king recalled Talbott calling him “dumber than a box of bricks” during an interview with ESPN before UFC 303 last June – and “The Machine” let him do it when they met.
During fight week, Dvalishvili showed footage of the two bantamweights crossing paths. They appeared to wish each other luck before things turned awkward when the Georgian fighter brought up old nonsense.
“Next time, don't talk nonsense about me,” Dvalishvili shouted at Talbott. “You said I'm stupid, remember?”
Dvalishvili walked up to Talbott, but they seemed to squash the beef before shaking hands and moving on.
After his performance at UFC 311, it appears Talbott still has a lot of work to do before he can mention Dvalishvili's name again.
Related topics
Comments