After his impressive win at UFC 323, what’s next for Payton Talbott?

On the main card this past Saturday at UFC 323, we saw the retirement fight of one of the most decorated combat sports athletes of all time. Former Olympic Gold Medalist and two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo (16-6) made the walk for the final time as he took on Payton Talbott (11-1).

Talbott and Cejudo had some history as Cejudo helped and even trained with Talbott early in his career. However, this was all business and Payton Talbott was looking to pickup the biggest win of his career.

Talbott saw a lot of his hype die down back in January when he lost to Raoni Barcelos, but Talbott didn’t let that loss deter him or his development. He bounced back well over the summer and then on Saturday at UFC 323, he looked better than ever.

Henry Cejudo was game and he showed incredible toughness. However, Talbott just butchered him over the course of 15 minutes. I was incredibly impressed with the striking and grappling of Talbott. I mean, Talbott took Cejudo down twice in this fight. Cejudo never quit but it was all about Talbott on Saturday as he won a lopsided decision.

What’s next after UFC 323?

With Talbott’s win over Cejudo, he’s leaped into the rankings at 12th. I do find it a bit odd that he’s ranked 12th yet Raoni Barcelos isn’t even ranked despite dominating Talbott in January and then getting two more wins this year. Nevertheless, Talbott’s ranked and that’s what we will focus on here.

Now that he’s in the rankings, I’m sure the UFC will want to get him moving upwards so for his next opponent, the focus will be on guys ranked ahead of him. He openly said that he wanted to fight a striker-first fighter next and there are some options in front of him.

One of the fighters that really seemed to peak his interest is Chito Vera and honestly, I’m here for that. Vera just lost a close decision against Aiemann Zahabi and I think he’d welcome a fight with Talbott. I also like the idea of Mario Bautista, but Talbott wasn’t too high on that name next. Rob Font could also be a name that the UFC explores and you know that Font would stand with him.