After Payton Talbott won his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, the promotion believed they had struck gold with him. And rightfully so. The Nevada native stayed undefeated, beating contenders like Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri, which quickly made him a star. However, just when Talbott started looking like the next superstar for the UFC, he had to face adversity against a seasoned veteran of the sport.

At UFC 311, Talbott faced Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos in a highly anticipated bantamweight bout, and many believed it would be his toughest test. Despite facing a fighter with much more experience, Talbott entered the bantamweight showdown as a huge favorite to win. But in a wild twist, the Rio native completely shut down the young contender with superior grappling, securing a unanimous decision victory.

Following that loss, Talbott corrected his mistakes and came back with a bang, defeating Felipe Lima at UFC 317. The UFC liked his comeback so much that they gave him the chance to face former two-division champ Henry Cejudo in his retirement fight at UFC 323. But while things turned out great for Talbott after his first professional defeat, nothing changed for the man who gave him that loss.

After beating Talbott, Barcelos went on to defeat former bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt at UFC Atlanta, extending his win streak to three. Fans believed he would finally move up. But instead, the UFC matched him against Ricky Simon at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 111, Apex event, not even on the main card, but on the prelims, and that rubbed many fans the wrong way.

Fans started asking why Payton Talbott could fight on a pay-per-view card after losing to Barcelos, yet the Brazilian couldn’t even get better placement. So they called out UFC CEO Dana White for mistreating the 38-year-old veteran.

UFC fans rage against Dana White for promoting Payton Talbott over the man who beat him  

One fan chimed in and summed up the entire situation, writing, “Raoni Barcelos beat Payton Talbott at UFC 311 in January. Raoni went on to beat Cody Garbrandt & Talbott beat Felipe Lima in June. Yet Talbott is booked vs Cejudo at UFC 323, whereas Raoni gets Ricky Simón this weekend in the Apex. Rough.” The user wanted to point out how Barcelos actually deserved a better spot after beating Talbott, yet he’s stuck fighting at the Apex, not in front of a real crowd.

Following that comment, another fan outright shamed Dana White and the UFC matchmakers, writing, “Shame. Raoni is getting older too. He had a chance to make a higher ranking.” Yes, at 38 years old, Barcelos doesn’t have many chances left to climb the rankings and potentially fight for contention. Also, since he’s facing Ricky Simon next, who isn’t ranked, he’ll probably need another win after this just to get back into the rankings.

Then another user wrote, “Feel sorry for Raoni but clearly they’re trying to push Talbott,” which seems to be the case. Talbott is young, still developing, and he has a personality that the promotion likes, so they’re trying to promote him. This exact point was reinforced by another fan who wrote, “Simple, it’s cause Talbott is a bigger star than Barcelos. Barcelos made a name for himself after his last two fights, but before Cody and Talbott he wasn’t that known.”

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So, on that basis, the Brazilian veteran does have to work a little harder to get inside the rankings. But wait, another fan pitched a very interesting idea, writing, “Hopefully Raoni gets the win and gets a ranked fighter next. Maybe Chito.” And that’s actually a pretty solid suggestion. Marlon Vera has been on a career slump, losing three fights in a row, the latest being at UFC Vancouver against Aiemann Zahabi.

If the UFC actually makes this fight, assuming Barcelos gets through Simon in his next bout, it’d be a great matchup for both. Chito would get a chance at a comeback, and the Brazilian veteran would finally get a ranked opponent. That said, do you think the UFC would take that step? Comment down below.