Payton Talbott entered UFC 311 with a heck of a lot of hype – and exited with not only his first loss, but his first scar.
During Saturday’s prelims at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., Talbott (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was upset by veteran fighter Raoni Barcelos (19-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) when he lost a unanimous decision.
After four days of silence, Talbott released a statement Wednesday on Instagram in which he said he learned valuable lessons in defeat.
“The vet gave me my first scar. May the skin heal itself to be strong and never split again. lucky to have such people in my life. fortunate to be able to learn valuable lessons. still had fun.”
Talbott, 26, was a -1209 favorite on average across major online sports books, per Best Fight Odds. The return on Barcelos was +750 on average. Perceived by many to be a budding star, Talbott had only gone the distance once prior to Saturday’s result. He had finished his three prior UFC appearances, submitting Nick Aguirre and knocking out Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri.
