Payton Talbott put on a great performance in the UFC 332 main event, knocking out former champion Deiveson Figueiredo in just over two minutes. (highlights here). It’s the second straight UFC champion Talbott has knocked out with ease, and now he’s looking for number three: Sean O’Malley.
There was a strange lack of hype surrounding Talbott’s return, perhaps due to the 10-month layoff or the overall weakness of UFC 332 as a card. But the 28-year-old made some headlines with the insinuation Sean O’Malley dismissed him In the case of the White House map, the accusation of “Suga” was strongly rejected.
After Figueiredo’s highlight reel KO, Talbott called out O’Malley again.
“I just wiped the floor with the backs of two champions and now I want one more,” Talbott declared in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Andrew Garfield – I mean Sean O’Malley! You can’t run forever. Give the people what they want!”
at UFC 332 post-fight press conference, Talbott was realistic about his chances against O’Malley. The former bantamweight champion is currently hoping to parlay his wins over Song Yadong and Aiemann Zahab into another title shot. What happens next really depends on who wins on November 24 when current champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili fight a third time.
“I think if Merab wins, it’s not a no-brainer,” Talbott said of the fight with O’Malley. “He has already fought and lost with Merabi many times.”
“If Yan wins, I don’t know, we’ll have to see. He’s ranked higher than me, we’ll see where my ranking goes. So I understand the position I’m in. But it’s a fun fight. I think we should both want it. He’s been called the best striker in the division and I’d like to challenge him.”
Ever since Payton Talbott burst onto the scene, fans have wanted to see him face Sean O’Malley. Now we’re in a position where that might actually happen, and O’Malley absolutely refuses to add gas to that fire.
We can’t blame him… he must a the conflicting decision wins over Petr Yan, which would undoubtedly put him right back into title contention if Yan bests Dvalishvili. Unless there’s enough hype for a fight with Talbot. That’s why we’re waiting for him to no-sell the Talbott fight…at least until UFC 333. As Merab Dvalishvili takes back the belt, we’ll see what “Suga” really thinks about the fight against Payton Talbott.
