Talbott faces former champion Deiveson Figueiredo as he looks to build toward a breakout campaign next year
SALT LAKE CITY — Payton Talbott has spent more time waiting than fighting in 2026. That’s why UFC 332 can’t come soon enough to Salt Lake City on Saturday.
Talbott makes his first appearance since beating former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo in December when he takes on another former titleholder in Deiveson Figueiredo. Between his last fight and his next one, he watched potential bouts with Sean O’Malley, Cory Sandhagen and others slip through the cracks. The last thing Talbott wants is another long break afterward.
“Definitely rankings,” Talbott told CBS Sports when asked what he seeks in his next opponent. “I don’t have a particular fighter yet, but I should think of one because they’ll probably ask me. I want to be more active next year.”
A busier 2027 could be massive for Talbott. The 28-year-old is already one of UFC’s most popular young fighters, despite being ranked outside of the bantamweight Top 10. At UFC 332, he’s arguably a bigger attraction than the main event title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong. Matchmakers are treating him accordingly. Talbott says former UFC champion O’Malley was among the opponents discussed before Figueiredo eventually got the assignment.
You can watch UFC 332 live on CBS this Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The action is also available on Paramount+ — along with every other UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!
“Cory Sandhagen was another name. I don’t think he said no. I think it didn’t happen because of logistics with the card,” Talbott said. “It’s funny because I heard Marcus McGhee bitching about how he wasn’t getting fights, but I remember very recently that kind of the same thing happened. I [said] his name, and he wanted nothing to do with me.”
Talbott already has one former champion on his resume. Cejudo entered their December fight with an Olympic gold medal, UFC titles in two divisions and a Hall of Fame-worthy career. Talbott retired him and, arguably even more impressively, took down the Olympic wrestler three times.
Figueiredo brings his own championship pedigree as a two-time flyweight king. Knocking them off consecutively would give Talbott something substantial to show for an otherwise frustratingly quiet year.
“That’s huge,” Talbott said. “I have a lot of other things that I want to do before I’m done with this sport, but that’s something awesome. To take out two former champs. Henry was one of the GOATs of this sport, between Olympic wrestling and everything else he’s achieved. He just won a boxing match. Putting people away who will age well, I think I’ll be proud of that.”
Figueiredo doesn’t plan to pad Talbott’s record. The former flyweight champion has spoken confidently about his striking ahead of Saturday’s fight. The idea that Figueiredo could outpunch Talbott planted a smirk on the young contender’s face.
“I don’t think he can strike with me, to put it simply. I mean, come on,” Talbott said. “It looks like he’s very locked in, focused, and ready to go to war. I’m so thankful for that because I hate feeling like my opponent is flat and, leading into the week, there’s nothing to overcome. It seems like Figgy is showing up differently this week compared to his last couple of fights.”
Talbott feeds off that resistance. His opponent doesn’t necessarily need to provide it, either. If nothing obvious stands out, Talbott looks elsewhere.
“Just inward,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what they do up or show up with; I’ll just be me and perform well. But I feel that when the odds are stacked against me, or when I’m in a considerable amount of danger, the better my opponent is doing, the better I shine.”
There is evidence for that. Talbott’s lone professional loss looks much different today than it did when Raoni Barcelos handed it to him in January 2025. Talbott entered the fight as an enormous betting favorite against a veteran whose best days appeared to be behind him. Barcelos dominated him.
It remains a blemish, but hardly an embarrassing one now. Barcelos used the upset to launch a remarkable late-career run, recently headlining a UFC Fight Night and nearly upsetting Raul Rosas Jr., another potential future star. Talbott agrees the loss looks better now, but he doesn’t want to rewrite the narrative.
“It’s aged well, but I didn’t show up the way I needed to that night,” Talbott said. “Maybe if I was more prepared, he would’ve beaten me anyway. He was the better man that night. That’s all that really matters in my head; that he beat me on the night that mattered. But it’s really reassuring and nice to see him ragdoll other people. He’s very good. It’s crazy to see someone at that age doing what he’s doing. It’s insane.”
Talbott was watching when Barcelos’ resurgence took a frightening turn against Rosas. On Sept. 26, Barcelos suddenly collapsed in the fifth round of a fight he was winning. The 39-year-old was stretchered out of the Meta APEX and rushed to the hospital for further treatment.
It was an eerie sight for Talbott. In their own fight, Talbott suffered intense vertigo that lasted several months.
“I was really sad, but my first thought was vertigo because it was a very similar angle to when my head hit the cage. Seeing the camera angles and how he looked, I realized this was much more serious,” Talbott recalled. “I hoped he was OK. I think we all went to the worst thought initially. I think he was discharged today, so that was really good to see.”
