No one expected Payton Talbott’s sixth UFC fight to come opposite Henry Cejudo, including the man himself.
Talbott, 27, has been one of the UFC’s brighter prospects since bursting onto the scene in 2023 through the promotion’s “Contender Series.” A bantamweight knockout artist, Talbott won four of his first five Octagon appearances, including a trio of impressive stoppages to kick off his run. Now he takes his biggest leap up the ladder yet, facing a friend and former two-division champion Dec. 6 at UFC 323 in Las Vegas, as Cejudo, 38, appears to be in pursuit of one last win before reentering retirement.
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Despite their relationship, Talbott couldn’t be happier with the surprising matchup.
“I love that,” Talbott said Wednesday’s on “The Ariel Helwani Show” when asked about potentially being the person to retire Cejudo. “The fact that it’s rumored to be his last dance, you’ll never have that opportunity again, so of course I’m going to take that.”
As bizarre as the matchup may have appeared from an outside perspective upon its announcement, and as much as it may hint at a potential fast-track to contention for the Reno prospect, Talbott insists the process wasn’t that deep. Options were scarce, he said, and he wanted to fight.
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When the UFC rang with Cejudo, it was an easy call.
“Everybody’s pretty much on my radar,” Talbott said. “The reason it happened is because I said yes. People see the fights that get made, but they don’t see how many people say no. Before Henry took the fight, I was trying really hard to fight on the [Nov. 15 Madison Square Garden] card. I had been through plenty of opponents that were lower in ranking, between me and Henry. Everyone said no. It just seemed like there were all these reasons to why people couldn’t fight.
“Henry said yes and I said yes. I haven’t said no to anyone. I was down to fight any of the names in between us, but it just didn’t work out that way, so I’m super excited to fight Henry. It’s like the best fight I could have gotten.”
It’s been a rough stretch for the all-time great Cejudo, who’s lost three straight fights since coming out of retirement in 2023. Cejudo’s return was met with immediate resistance from then-champion Aljamain Sterling, who defeated him via split decision, and Merab Dvalishvili, who dispatched him prior to Dvalishvili’s own championship reign. In February, Cejudo tasted defeat once again at UFC Seattle, losing in strange fashion when his fight against Song Yadong ended with an accidental eye-poke.
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Despite the tough run, Cejudo’s legacy has already been cemented not only in MMA, but in combat sports overall. He famously captured gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics at age 21, becoming — at the time — the youngest U.S. Olympic champion in amateur wrestling history.
So the matchup is a big one for Talbott, regardless of its timing.
“He’s one of the GOATs,” Talbott said of Cejudo. “He was a beltholder at my weight, the weight below. He was an Olympic gold medalist. There will never be another Henry Cejudo. I have a ton of respect for him just for that reason. And I think honestly, it’s just — I’m not taking fights just because I’m going to win. I’m not really interested in favorable matchups. We’re here to just fight and test the best version of ourselves. I feel like that’s what’s important.”
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Talbott and Cejudo’s friendship dates back to Cejudo’s aforementioned clash against Dvalishvili in early 2024. Ahead of the bout, Talbott was getting set to make his second UFC appearance and trained at Cejudo’s gym in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Although they’ll go from friends to foes now, it’s all respect. Talbott said he and Cejudo shared a brief interaction after the fight became official and agreed to let the best man win.
“We’re good friends. I think we have a lot of mutual respect for each other,” Talbott said. “I hung out with him for a week and saw his way of doing camp. He was super generous and shared a lot of knowledge with me that I still carry to this day. Gave me a lot of really good advice.
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“I think back then, when I visited him, it wasn’t on either of our radars that we would maybe fight in the future, because that was right before he fought Merab and he was supposed to retire after that fight. So I don’t think either of us thought about it. But it’s very funny how life works sometimes.”
