UFC 323 was long on impressive performances. Before two titles changed hands in Saturday’s featured headliners, bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott silenced critics with his best performance yet.
Matched against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, Talbott did more than just win — he leveled up, hanging with Cejudo in every aspect of MMA to sweep the judges’ scorecards and retire a combat sports legend. The most surprising moments of the fight were arguably the picture-perfect takedowns Talbott landed on the Olympic gold medalist wrestler. Talbott, 27, revealed Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that his offensive wrestling wasn’t even necessarily a part of the game plan.
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“It just presented itself,” Talbott told Uncrowned. “We were talking, me and a lot of the guys helping me out, and my camp were like, ‘He’s not going to expect you to take him down at all, so it’s entirely possible that you could.’ And just knowing how mentally demoralizing that is to be him and get taken down by me, I’m sure speaks volumes. I was definitely looking for it when it was there.”
Wins within a win don’t get much sweeter than scoring takedowns on a decorated wrestler like Cejudo. Immediately after outwrestling the former champ, Talbott was ecstatic, grinning toward the camera.
“I let my excitement get the better of me,” Talbott said. “I was pretty hyped, honestly, because I learned that from him. I even said that. I took him down, I stuck my tongue out or whatever, and I was like, ‘I learned that from you, motherf***er.’ He might have giggled or something, I didn’t catch it, but yeah, that’s just a surreal moment.
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“I knew he was about to inside trip me. The minute he got that over-under, I was like, ‘He’s going inside trip, so I’m going to do it right before him.’ And it worked out.”
Talbott’s performance was an indescribable turnaround from his first fight of 2025 — a unanimous decision loss to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311. The veteran Barcelos pressured and out-grappled Talbott for three rounds, halting any momentum the previously undefeated prospect had had prior. After first rebounding against Felipe Lima in June, this past Saturday’s performance against Cejudo put Talbott back on a win streak.
Confidence hasn’t been much of a problem for Talbott throughout his career, but against Cejudo, he mentally knew the fight was a wrap after he scored that beautiful first inside trip.
“After that, I was like, ‘Oh, this fight’s over,'” Talbott said. “I actually expected to lose the first round. I was ready to have a really tough first round and to just take the fight to him in the next two and win it that way. But I did alright.”
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There were emotional scenes in the aftermath of Talbott’s unanimous decision. Cejudo, who had already retired once in 2020, hung up the gloves one final time in defeat.
Cejudo and Talbott briefly served as training partners early in Talbott’s career, so there was plenty of respect shared between the two leading up to and after their scrap. Before a celebratory post-fight video package played honoring the former two-division champion, Cejudo spoke through the cage to UFC CEO Dana White, making it clear to White that he wants Talbott to remain taken care of in the UFC.
It was a moment Talbott didn’t catch until watching it back later on social media. When he did, the kind sentiment was more overwhelming than he anticipated.
“That actually meant a lot to me and almost made me kind of tear up, man. I don’t really be crying too often,” Talbott admitted.
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“To think of somebody other than yourself in that moment is pretty huge. Henry gets all kinds of flak, but at his core, man, he is a very generous guy, and a solid dude. He had to be the villain for whatever reason, to save sports entertainment or whatever he had within himself, but I know that guy, and he’s a really good human.”
After a win over Cejudo, Talbott expects to get yet another high-profile matchup. He’s already pondering his next move, and ideally Talbott likes the idea of a top-ranked bantamweight contender.
If he had his choice, Talbott would like to keep delivering certified stand-up bangers for the fans.
“I want a striker next. I’ve fought three wrestlers back-to-back-to-back,” Talbott said. “So I want to have fun and give the fans what they want a little bit. Still sharpen my skills wrestling, of course, but I want to remind people what I can do as a striker.
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“I’m down for a [Marlon] ‘Chito’ [Vera] or [Aiemann] Zahabi.”
