Las Vegas — After suffering the first loss of his professional career against Raoni Barcelos earlier this year, bantamweight Payton Talbott returned to the win column at UFC 317.
Opening up the main card in Las Vegas on Saturday, Talbott (10-1) earned a unanimous decision win over another Brazilian, Felipe Lima. What stood out in the end was Talbott’s improved wrestling defense, which included plenty of reversals. It might have been a surprise, at least to those unaware that Talbott does have a wrestling background, even if he’s more known for his knockout power.
“It feels really good. Big weight lifted off my shoulders. Feels good to know that I can improve during a fight, and off camp, and just stick to the cause,” Talbott said, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, and reflecting on the improvements he was able to show. “I felt like I showed up as my best self tonight.”
As far as his approach, “even if he was a better wrestler than me, the goal was to frustrate him and make him feel like he wasn’t,” Talbott explained. And he did just that.
Towards the end of the fight, UFC color commentator and former double-champ Daniel Cormier noted that Payton Talbott looked to be having fun in the cage. That’s a sentiment Talbott himself agreed to. “I was having a lot of fun. I love my job. I was saying ‘bora, bora.’ That’s his [Lima’s] native tongue. He knows what I was saying.”
“Bora” translates to “Let’s go,” not exactly an uncommon phrase in MMA circles.
As for the victory, Talbott admitted that “this is probably the biggest win. It makes me feel the most like a fighter that I’ve ever felt.” Growing up, Talbott had envisioned back-and-forth wars, but became known for ending fights quickly. Still, explained Talbott, “I’m doing this because I love fist fights. And I love the push and pull, and peeling people’s layers. All of it.”
What’s next, meanwhile, is simple. He may or may not be back on the hype train (fans are fickle, noted Talbott), but the goal is growth. “Keep getting better, keep improving. Keep inch-worming.”
Watch the full UFC 317 post-fight press conference with Payton Talbott above.
