Inglewood – Being labeled an underdog is an effective motivator and it was one for UFC bantamweight Raoni Barcelos who was one against the much younger Payton Talbott at UFC 311 on Saturday night.
Barcelos (19-5) went onto beat Talbott by decision, but the pre-fight odds may have lit a fire in him. That being said he understood what Talbott was going through.
“I’ve been in the exact same situation. I was an undefeated fighter, I was the big promise coming out of Brazil, and everyone’s careers have a bunch of ups and downs,” Barcelos told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator at his post-fight scrum.
“I’m not saying this is going to be his career, but there’s a lot of things that happen throughout the career and people need to look at that. It’s what it is. You come in with a lot of hype around you and all these things built around you. I’ve been there.”
Barcelos is ready to continue on hoping to get back in the cage a couple more times in 2025.
“I want to fight two more times this year. Maybe in Brazil. We’ve been hearing about May going to Brazil. After that one towards the end of the year,” he said.
“Beating Talbott (I) really feel like (I’m) back in contention and to fighting the top 10, top 15, in the division.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Raoni Barcelos above.