
Saturday night on the prelims of UFC 311, we are going to see one of the best prospects in the sport face his toughest test to date inside the octagon. Superstar prospect Payton Talbott (9-0) will look to move to 10-0 as he takes on the dangerous veteran Raoni Barcelos (18-5).
Starting with Barcelos, he’s been with the UFC since 2018 and during his run, he’s faced some strong competition. Since making his octagon debut, Barcelos is 7-4 with wins over the likes of Chris Gutierrez, Said Nurmagomedov, and Trevin Jones. He’s also been in there with the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips.
He’ll be tasked with derailing the hype train of Payton Talbott. Talbott has superstar written all over him. The 26-year-old earned his way to the UFC via The Contender Series and he’s dazzled throughout his first three fights. He’s gone 3-0 with three finishes and his last fight took less than 20 seconds. This is a big step up in competition so it’ll be interesting to see how he does.
UFC 311 Prediction
Payton Talbott is the biggest betting favorite on the card coming in at -1200 at the time of writing this. Essentially, nobody is giving Raoni Barcelos a chance in this one. Is it a mistake to give him no chance given his history inside the octagon?
I personally don’t think the odds should be that lopsided, but I also don’t see Barcelos winning this fight. Talbott is younger, faster, stronger, and just better wherever the fight goes. On the feet, I think you’ll see a big difference in the speed and power on Saturday night. Barcelos is crafty but he’s going to need a miracle to win at UFC 311. I think Talbott shows out and gets the biggest win of his young career before the final bell.
Prediction: Payton Talbott by TKO