Payton Talbott
Bantamweight | 24 | Reno, Nevada, US | 5-0 | 5 KO/TKOs | Combined Opponents’ Record: 18-6-2
Talbott is the champion of Urijah Faber’s promotion A1 Combat and also trains under Faber so there is a good chance he’s on the Contender Series in season 7. It would be completely warranted with the way Talbott has performed. Especially, the last fight he had where he beat down his toughest test to date. He could benefit from waiting another year because he’s still young and still developing. Like they did with Raul Rosas, Talbott could be developed slowly.
Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi
Flyweight | 22 | Sendai, Japan | 16-1 | 4 Submission’s | Combined Opponents’ Record: 158-110-18
Takahashi doesn’t look like he’ll be on this coming season of Road to UFC so the Contender Series should definitely happen. Takahashi is arguably the best prospect across all of Asia. His resume is super strong and so is his skill set. Takahashi made his US debut last November for CFFC and won the title. He’s also the DEEP flyweight champion out of Japan. His fight with Diego Paiva boosted his stock and in his last one in RIZIN, he looked outstanding.
