TLDR
- Payton Talbott faces Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332 on October 3 in Salt Lake City
- Talbott has been away from competition for nine months since defeating Henry Cejudo in December
- The bantamweight prospect says he ‘reinvented’ himself during the extended training period
- Talbott trained at multiple locations but focused on staying true to his core fighting style
- A potential fight with Sean O’Malley was discussed but did not materialize
Sources: sports.yahoo.com | sherdog.com
Payton Talbott will return to the UFC Octagon on Saturday after a nine-month break from competition. The bantamweight prospect faces former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City.
Talbott’s last fight came in December when he defeated former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. The victory established the young fighter as one of the division’s top prospects.
Since that win, Talbott has spent nearly the entire year training without a scheduled fight. He said the extended time away from competition felt strange but allowed him to make important changes to his approach.
“Yeah, it was kind of weird,” Talbott told the UFC when asked about his hiatus. “This is all still new to me, so I tried to just stay training and just stay ready.”
Man, a really candid reflection from Payton Talbott on time, death and the pressure to make the most of life:
“I feel like I don’t have any time. I’m 28 years old and I feel like I’m gonna die in a couple years. Time is going by so fast, and I feel this immense responsibility to… pic.twitter.com/gSCbFRxkaC
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 28, 2026
Going Back to His Roots
The 25-year-old said he used the time to reinvent himself as a fighter while returning to the fundamentals that made him successful. He trained throughout the year at various locations to expand his skillset.
“I mean, I trained pretty much the whole year, and I feel like I kind of reinvented myself a little bit and went back to my roots, went inward,” Talbott explained. The fighter said he focused on internal development rather than only seeking outside instruction.
Talbott described his training philosophy as a careful balance between learning new techniques and preserving his natural fighting instincts. He visited different gyms and worked with various coaches during his time away.
“You go and train out of town, and you pick people’s brains and sometimes you take things from them and implement them into your game,” Talbott said. He emphasized the importance of selective learning rather than completely changing his style.
Staying True to Himself
The bantamweight prospect said he learned that maintaining his core identity as a fighter was crucial. He believes fighters can lose their edge by adopting too many outside influences.
“But a lot of the times, the reason you got where you are is because of you,” Talbott added. “And so, you just have to correctly learn how to implement it and not let it fully change you, but just use the best of what you learn.”
Talbott’s upcoming fight against Figueiredo represents his second consecutive bout against a former UFC champion. Figueiredo held the flyweight title before moving up to bantamweight.
The fight takes place at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on October 3. Talbott enters the bout looking to prove his extended training period has made him a more complete fighter.
According to reports, a fight between Talbott and former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley was being discussed before this matchup was finalized. Those plans did not come together for UFC 332.
Talbott will now look to extend his winning streak against another experienced former champion in Figueiredo. The event marks his first appearance in the Octagon since December.
