Payton Talbott Says Top Contenders Rejected Him Ahead of UFC 311: ‘It’s Dangerous'

That's to be expected though, as the 26-year-old rising star needed only 19 seconds to pick up his ninth-straight win (his seventh by KO) at UFC 303 in June. Talbott already had a hard enough time getting booked before that after a beautiful TKO over Cameron Saaiman earlier in the year that helped build his current momentum.

Report: Rising Star Payton Talbott to Face MMA Veteran at UFC 311

Talbott: "Nobody Wants To Fight..."

Talbott was shelved for the second half of 2025, the undefeated fighter finally booked for UFC 311 on Jan. 18 in L.A across from Raoni Barcelos, an 11-fight UFC veteran without a ranking.

"I'm really excited to compete because I haven't competed in a long time," Talbott said in Spanish to UFC Espanol. "There's nobody that wants to fight with me. I'm at the cusp of fighting [contenders] high and low in the rankings... None of the higher-ranked fighters want to fight me because it's dangerous."

Talbott wouldn't mention any of the names who turned him down, likely seeing them soon enough with another showcase win on a UFC pay-per-view event.

For his upcoming fight, Talbott is spending the last part of his training camp at the UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City, training at elevation.

"The last couple of months I've been training a lot and then working on some creative stuff. I've been collaborating with a lot of artists... different things, different mediums but I've been busy working 16, 15 hours a day," Talbott added.

Eddie Alvarez Says Team 2-0 vs. Jeremy Stephens: ‘We Know What Needs to Be Done'

More UFC & MMA News

• 'The One, The Only': Former Two-Division UFC Champion Conor McGregor Teases Comeback

• Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O'Malley Outlines Plan to Reclaim Title

• Ex-UFC Star Paige VanZant Set for MMA Return after Signing with New Promotion

• Jeremy Stephens Open to Mike Perry BKFC Brawl: ‘People Probably Expect to See That'