Payton Talbott did everything right on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. He walked into UFC 332, stopped Deiveson Figueiredo with a first-round TKO, and then grabbed the microphone and aimed at the biggest name in the bantamweight division who doesn’t currently hold the belt. That’s the playbook. Win loud, call your shot, make the bosses decide whether they want the money.
Then Jorge Masvidal showed up with a bucket of cold water.
Speaking on “Deep Waters,” in comments picked up by MMA Junkie, Masvidal told the 12-1 Talbott that picking a fight with Sean O’Malley right now is a bad idea. “He could look like Spiderman or whatever, but Sean O’Malley is no actor, he could fight,” Masvidal said. “He will light up Payton right now. He’ll light his ass up right now. The footwork, one of the best footworks on the whole roster, and has experience going five rounds.”
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I think Masvidal is right about the fight. I also think that’s the best argument for booking it.
Masvidal’s case holds up
Start with the resumes. Talbott is 6-1 in the UFC. O’Malley is 20-3 overall and 12-3 inside the Octagon, and he’s a former 135-pound champion. The gap in high-level experience is real, and Masvidal put his finger on the exact piece that matters most: championship rounds. A guy who has gone five rounds in a title fight knows how to pace the 20th minute, and a prospect who’s never been there finds out the hard way.
O’Malley made the same point himself when he answered the callout on X. Talbott had told him on the mic, “Sean O’Malley, you can’t run forever. Give the people what they want.” O’Malley fired back: “4 out of last 7 fights have been against 3 of the greatest bantamweights of all time. Ain’t duckin no one.”
That’s a pretty good receipt. You can call O’Malley a lot of things, and plenty of people have, but a guy whose recent schedule reads like a list of the best bantamweights ever doesn’t fit the profile of a ducker.
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Masvidal was also measured about the Figueiredo win, which I respect. He said Talbott surprised him in the Henry Cejudo fight, but that Figueiredo hasn’t looked like himself mentally lately. He was careful to say he wasn’t dissing the 25-8-1 Brazilian, only that the version who showed up wasn’t the one he’s used to seeing. Translation: Talbott beat a faded name, and he shouldn’t confuse that with being ready for a sharpshooter who has worn gold.
Why I’d book it anyway
The whole point of a callout is to find out. Talbott didn’t ask for a softer matchup or a ranked guy two spots above him. He went straight for the guy who’d embarrass him if the hype were fake, which is the exact kind of shot-calling this sport needs more of. If O’Malley does light him up, great, we learn something. If Talbott hangs with that footwork for 15 minutes, we learn something bigger.
And Talbott has a loud ally. Cejudo, who has shared a cage with him, posted on X that “Nobody wants to fight Payton Talbott” and that “He’s been ignored for a year.” Then he went full Cejudo, demanding the UFC “stop protecting Sean O’Methly” and ordering both sides to sign. The O’Methly bit is pure Triple C trolling, and I love it. Cejudo is a born villain who never misses a chance to poke O’Malley, and the trash talk hits harder coming from someone who has actually felt what Talbott brings.
The caveat that matters
Here’s where I get suspicious, and it isn’t about O’Malley’s courage. According to MMA Junkie, O’Malley said he’s willing to fight Talbott, unless Petr Yan gets past Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. That’s a big “unless.” It means Talbott’s dream fight hangs on someone else’s title result, and a yes with a trapdoor in it sounds a lot like a maybe.
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I get why O’Malley wants options. Former champs chase belts and paydays, and nobody blames him for keeping his eyes on the top of the mountain. But Talbott just did his part, and the fans who saw that Figueiredo finish deserve a straight answer instead of a pending one.
So my take is simple. Masvidal is probably correct that O’Malley’s movement and five-round reps would give Talbott fits right now. O’Malley is the favorite in my book, and it isn’t close. That’s exactly why Talbott asked for him, and exactly why the UFC should say yes. Prospects who request the hardest fight on the board should get it.
The answer arrives on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. If Dvalishvili beats Yan, the clock starts on O’Malley’s offer, and I’ll be watching to see whether that promise survives contact with a contract.
