The night of UFC 323 will go down in history as a remarkable event. It was a night that had an air of curses. However, Payton Talbott delivered his most pristine and sharpest performance to date. Talbott was unanimously declared the winner. The card was chaotic, but this fight was nothing less than a gritty showcase of heart, pace, and technique between Triple C and the up-and-coming bantamweight threat.

After a night full of shocks, Talbott stands out. He is firmly on the UFC radar now, and a top-10 clash feels close. Talbott, a tall striker known for his pressure, sniper jabs, and slick shot selection, post-fight confessed that he wanted another striker next to him. It is quite logical—he excels in striking wars and had to cope with many wrestling looks from Cejudo.

Payton Talbott plots a smart, striker-friendly path after UFC 323 win

In the post-fight interview, Talbott was honest. When asked about his desired opponent among the top ten, he confessed that he was uncertain after the top five. Alongside him, McKenzie Pavacich and Dan Hellie began naming fighters to assist him. Dan mentioned Deiveson Figueiredo, then Aiemann Zahabi, and finally, Marlon “Chito” Vera, who is a striker currently on a three-fight losing streak, the last loss being against Zahabi in October.

Talbott smiled and said, “Yeah, that’d be fun. Zahabi is a striker. Did they not just fight? Okay, that would be a good fight, he said. Either one of them.” Dan followed with, “That’s seven and eight. Okay, we love it. That’s a good challenge.”

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Payton Talbott kept it real during the post-fight chat when the matchmaking talk got deeper. When McKenzie Pavacich and Dan Hellie tried to help him sort out the top-ten landscape, Payton laughed and said, “You only gave me two names. ” McKenzie jumped back in with, “Well, do you want to keep going? I’m like nine. That’s only one.” Dan then laid out the division: “We have Deiveson Figueiredo at six. Song Yadong at five and then Cory Sandhagen at four. Mario Bautista is number nine.”

Hearing the list, Payton paused on Bautista before admitting, “Oh, is he? This would be a good approach. But he’s a wrestler. But he can strike. I want to fight a striker.” Then, he circled back to the name that actually fit the bill: “Okay. All right. Could be Chito. This could be interesting. We’ll see.”

Payton Talbott’s victory over Cejudo, the ex-champion with an Olympic gold medal in his sports career, made a statement with his impressive technical prowess. Talbott made it clear that he would not prefer to fight in the wrestling trenches again. If he had a say in the matchmaking, he would like a toe-to-toe striking duel.

Talbott, who is considered one of the UFC’s biggest prospects, was not naïve in his callout. He tactfully avoided mentioning the names of Song Yadong, Cory Sandhagen, and Sean O’Malley, who are all top-class strikers ranked way above ‘Chito’ Vera.

Meanwhile, the same UFC 323 card saw a seismic shift at the top of the division as Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan’s rematch ended with the latter reclaiming the title and becoming the new bantamweight king. Talbott’s cautious manner is understandable in light of the circumstances. He is a dreamer, but also a realist. He has picked ‘Chito’ as his next opponent, who is a striker, beatable, and still ranked, confirming that he is advancing his way to the top with brains and firepower.

Talbott borrowed Henry Cejudo’s moves and gave them right back to him

Payton Talbott is a striker by nature, and he entered UFC 323 and nonchalantly took a few moves from an Olympic wrestler’s manual. In the opening round, he executed a perfect inside trip that was almost like a plot twist, especially since it was a move typically associated with Henry Cejudo. After that, a precise double leg took place, and he outwrestled an Olympic gold medalist in his own territory.

Payton, in the same interview, admitted, “I thought that I was probably going to lose the first round and then start to open up into the second and third, but from the get-go it was just a great time.” Talbott also said, “I have always said I wanted to be higher up in those rankings and just swim with the sharks, you know. So, I felt very at peace with where I was going to be.”

Dan Hellie pointed out the inside trip, saying, “The inside trip, which Henry is known for. I don’t know if he taught you that and then you used it on him anyway.” Talbott grinned and replied, “Not really. The whole camp we were just saying it would be so sick to hit him with his own thing.” He added, “When I hit it on him, I said to him, ‘I learned that from you.’ He laughed.”

Talbott did not just beat Cejudo; he proved that he could grow, adapt, and steal a legend’s weapons while aiming even higher.