In what has perhaps been the biggest shock of the night thus far at UFC 311 — the promotion’s first pay-per-view card of the year — Payton Talbott’s undefeated record came to an end at the hands of Raoni Barcelos.
Barcelos dominated the fight from start to finish, using his size and wrestling to success. The Brazilian, in fact, dominated the opening round and appeared to put a hurting on the American up-and-comer. Talbott had a sense of urgency in the second round, trying to take control and come out on the front foot, but Barcelos simply did more.
The veteran’s success continued into the third round, as he swept the judges’ scorecards.
Raoni Barcelos Hands Payton Talbott First Loss In Dominant Display At UFC 311
We ain’t switching up on Payton Talbott, we gonna come back stronger
Keep your head up goat
pic.twitter.com/YNynnABPQA
— 𝒁𝒆𝒆 𖣂 (@OwnedByCeedee) January 19, 2025
The biggest fraud we’ve ever seen.
Payton Talbott folks. #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/smDbG6j13u
— Sug
(@SnoozeMMA) January 19, 2025
Payton Talbott loses via lay and pray
pic.twitter.com/Erqwsx7zhJ
— Sobervated Jon
(Fan of Jon Jones) (@SobervatedConor) January 19, 2025
Payton Talbott next week: pic.twitter.com/zikPXVEQAC
— UFCStats
(@TheUFCStats) January 19, 2025
Arriving to the UFC off a win on Dana White’s Contender Series, Talbott had scored wins over Nick Aguirre, Cameron Saaiman, and Yanis Ghemmouri.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s result marked Barcelos’ second straight win, with his last fight coming back at UFC Mexico City last year, where he defeated Cristian Quiñonez.
