Two fights into his UFC career, Payton Talbott is already experiencing the shift that comes with competing on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts and succeeding inside the Octagon.
“Every time I go out now, I get recognized, so that’s kind of new,” begins the 25-year-old bantamweight prospect, who faces off with Yanis Ghemmouri on the UFC 303 prelims on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. “I used to walk around the city with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, back when I was an amateur and earlier on, so it’s much different now having people already know me, like ‘Oh my God, that’s Payton Talbott; no way we’re in the same building!’
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‘I’m just like, ‘We were probably in the same building two years ago and nobody gave a f***,’” he added, smiling and shaking his head. “It’s cool, but I’m trying to stay pure with why I got into the sport and not get fixated on that.”
Random people in his hometown of Reno, Nevada aren’t the only ones that have been taking notice of Talbott and been excited to be in his presence.
A few weeks ago, the promising undefeated fighter got to skate with Tony Hawk, who approved of Talbott’s falling technique when a speed wobble sent him sliding face-first across the terrain in the skateboarding legend’s warehouse.
“He pushed for that because his sons have mutual friends with me; some of my friends are super-close with them,” explains Talbott. “It’s a dream come true for a kid that grew up in my era; that’s my age because we grew up with Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and it was really cool to be around somebody that did so much for the skate community and the community, in general. He’s such a humble guy and really down to Earth, soft-spoken; it was cool to be around him.
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“I was kind of surprised,” he adds. “I was like, ‘Is somebody playing a joke on me?’ I thought his kids were 10, 12 years old or something — star-struck kids or something — and then I was talking to my friends about it, and they were like, ‘Riley Hawk— he’s like 30!’ I don’t know why I thought they were way younger.”
While his exploits in the Octagon brought about a situation where he was in the presence of skateboarding royalty, Talbott is yet another fighter on the UFC roster that recognizes the crossover elements that exist between his two sporting passions.
Having seen the Tony Hawk videos and knowing his affinity for being on a board, I pitch him my theory about how the two are correlated: that it takes reps on reps to master a trick, just as it takes drill upon drill to master a technique, and the determination it takes to do either (or both) tells you a great deal about that individual’s makeup.
He nods, then offers his own take on the subject.
“Fighting is 90 percent mental and I think skating is, too,” says Talbott, who collected an impressive second-round stoppage win over Cameron Saaiman in March to advance to 8-0 as a professional. “It takes a lot of skill and dexterity, but whatever style you decide to go into, it’s extremely mental. You have the best guys in the world doing tricks they’ve landed hundreds of times, but it only takes one time for them to be mentally off and really get thrashed.
“I think it’s the ability to stay composed and relaxed, still be able to land a gnarly trick where if you fall, there is really high risk, which is similar to MMA,” he continues, connecting the two. “You’re at high risk the entire fight — you’re putting your health at stake — and that’s what you do every time you step on a skateboard and are going decently fast.
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“The one thing I will say is that nobody hits harder than concrete,” he adds with a laugh. “I’ve never been hit harder than I’ve been slammed on a skateboard, so if you can be okay with that pain and take it to MMA, you’re gonna do pretty well.”
Thus far, Talbott has done pretty well.
After feeling unsatisfied with his debut performance — a third-round submission win over Nick Aguirre last November — his sophomore showing left little room for criticism. From the outset of his highly anticipated pairing with Saaiman, Talbott was in complete control, pressing the action early and getting the better of the exchanges, dictating the terms of engagement throughout.
At times, he bullied the South African, and less than two minutes into the fight, he landed a stepping knee to the chin that sounded like a 500-foot home run coming off the bat. While Saaiman survived the onslaught that followed and made it to the end of the round, Talbott wasted no time dispatching him once the second round began.
“Yeah, for sure,” he answers when asked if he was happy with his first performance of the year. “It was really hard to pick some things out that were wrong that I did — although I did find some stuff — but I was very satisfied and happy with that.”
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And now he returns for his second appearance of the year, a pairing with Ghemmouri on Saturday’s preliminary card that came together as a result of Talbott’s desire to compete alongside Conor McGregor and the start of issues finding people that are willing to sign up to face him.
“Conor was the reason I got into this and the minute I got the offer to fight on his card, I said, ‘F*** yeah; I don’t care who!’’ explains Talbott, smiling. “It was a process getting an opponent, so that’s why we ended up with this opponent.
“I said yes to multiple people, but it didn’t pan out. I took what I could get, took this matchup, and now that he’s not on the card anymore, at least I’ve still got a fight.”
When I ask about already having difficulties finding opponents and what that’s like given that he’s just two fights into his UFC tenure, he initially downplays the idea that other bantamweights are actively opting against fighting him.
“I don’t know if it was so much that; I think there were some injuries,” he says, grinning, trying to be humble and respectful. “They never tell you the reason why — you can assume — but I’ve dealt with that my entire career. Even when I was an amateur, the regional scene, I had guys backing out, saying they would fight me and then not turning up.
“And I get it,” he adds. “When I watch my film, I’m a scary dude to fight; it would not be very fun to fight me. My personality is I look at that and I’m licking my teeth. ‘That’s a great test for me! I wanna see what I can do to that guy.’”
For Talbott, it’s all about testing himself and growing as a competitor, not protecting his record and trying to advance up the divisional ladder without facing too much adversity.
“I’ve never babied that,” he says of his unbeaten record. “I’ve fought a lot of guys that were either undefeated or never finished; a lot of dogs.
“After this fight, depending on how good I look and how comfortable, I’d like to try to fight somebody just outside the Top 15 and try to get up in that ranking. I think it’s kind of unreasonable to ask too high, but right outside that Top 15 is where I think I belong right now.
“I want to be in the Top 15 and chill there for a while,” he adds with a mischievous smile. “I don’t wanna chill down here in the 40s; that’s lame. I’m trying to chill up there with the killers.”
Right now, Talbott is taking what he can get and looking to make the most of the opportunities in front of him.
This weekend, that means stepping in with Ghemmouri and competing in front of a crowd for the first time, something he’s been vocal about wanting to do from the outset of his time on the roster.
“I think it’s gonna be electric; I’m super-excited,” Talbott says when asked about making the walk at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. “I don’t know what to expect because I haven’t even been to a UFC event, but it means a lot to me because I think that is where I belong. From now on, I think that’s mainly where I’m going to compete, in front of a crowd.
“I’m gonna try to really enjoy it and remember it as a very pivotal moment in my career, which I hope it ends up being.”
UFC 303: Pereira vs Procházka 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 29, 2024. See the Final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!