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UFC's next star earns comeback victory on Topuria-Oliveira main card

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 12:09 AM ET

The future shines brightly for one of the UFC's most promising bantamweight talents.

26-year-old Payton Talbott lost his 9-0 record in a hard-fought loss to Raoni Barcelos in January, halting his incredible momentum. The Nevada native burst onto the scene with a three-fight UFC winning streak, culminating in a 19-second knockout over Yannis Ghemmouri.

Now, Talbott denied a two-fight skid with a dominant performance over a fellow top prospect...

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Payton Talbott snaps Felipe Lima's 15-fight streak at UFC 317

Talbott entered UFC 317 as a slight underdog to his opponent, former OKTAGON MMA champion Felipe Lima. The Brazilian standout hadn't lost a fight since his professional debut, piecing together a fourteen-fight winning streak.

After Barcelos exposed Talbott's glaring weakness in the grappling department, fans didn't have high hopes for their prospect. Many thought he'd been thrown to the wolves, but Talbott proved them wrong with a lopsided decision victory.

Back on top‼️@PaytonTalbott take home the UD at #UFC317! pic.twitter.com/eUIp8dmk65
— UFC (@ufc) June 29, 2025

Overcoming some early knocks from Lima swinging wild, Talbott continued to control the fight on the feet and on the ground. Lima stifled his own success by chasing fruitless takedowns, refusing to capitalize on his success in the striking.

Following his victory, Talbott continued his trend of calling out former bantamweight contender Adrian Yanez, a fellow boxer-striker and fan-favorite finisher. Yanez (17-6), is 1-3 in his last four appearances, but represents a very beatable, known-name opponent for the budding Talbott.

Keep an eye out for this young contender on the rise.

This article first appeared on MMA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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