Undefeated UFC star-in-the-making to make his return on first PPV of the New Year against 23-fight veteran

It's almost the end of the calendar year, which means MMA fans around the world will soon start thinking about the 'Breakout Star of 2024' – and we'd like to throw Payton Talbott's name in the hat.

The undefeated American has achieved two fantastic results this year, both of which earned him a nice Performance of the Night bonus of $50,000; and you better believe the popular bantamweight is looking to continue that hot streak in 2025.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

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 rumored to be headlined by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan.

After becoming a champion himself in Urijah Faber's A1 Combat series, Talbott entered the world stage in late 2023 and after a successful venture in Dana White's Contender Series, he made his promotional debut last November.

Three tough opponents have stood in Talbott's way since the Contender Series win; three tough opponents he leaves in his wake, while none of these fighters make it onto 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 great start to his UFC tenure, but his next opponent, Raoni Barcelos, will be the toughest test of his young 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 in February 2024; But already at the age of 37, this seems like a struggle for the superstar in the making.

UFC 311 is starting to take shape, with a reported eleven fights scheduled

According to the UFC 311 webpage, only one fight has been officially announced by the promotion, namely Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez.

However, the Tapology events page claims that there have reportedly been as many as 11 fights 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 versus Reinier de Ridder

There are only rumors about the lightweight title fight at this point; although Arman Tsarukyan himself recently stated that this will be officially announced in the coming weeks.

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