Payton Talbott Wants Sean O'Malley Next — But Yan vs. Merab Decides It

Payton Talbott ran through Deiveson Figueiredo in just over two minutes at UFC 332 on Saturday in Salt Lake City, then did what rising prospects do: he called out the biggest name he could find. For Talbott, that name is Sean O'Malley — and it's his third straight win setting up the pitch. Figueiredo, a former flyweight champ ranked #9 at bantamweight with a 25-8-1 record, didn't make it out of the first round.

The problem for Talbott is that his next move isn't entirely his to decide. He admitted at the post-fight presser that the Petr Yan–Merab Dvalishvili trilogy at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi could reshape everything. If Merab wins, Talbott figures O'Malley has nowhere else to go — which makes the fight a formality. If Yan wins, the picture gets murkier.

The Merab Math

There's cold logic behind that read. O'Malley is 0-2 against Dvalishvili, so a third shot at Merab any time soon makes little sense. But O'Malley owns a win over Yan — that back-and-forth decision is exactly what launched him toward the title in the first place. If Yan takes the belt, O'Malley has a clean argument for another championship crack and far less reason to entertain a prospect like Talbott.

Talbott knows where he sits in the pecking order. He conceded O'Malley is the higher-ranked man and that his own position depends on how the rankings shake out after the Figueiredo win. Still, he framed the matchup as a fight both men should want, pointing out that O'Malley's billing as the division's best striker is something he'd happily test in the cage.

On the stylistic breakdown, Talbott leaned into physicality. He said he prefers opponents built like him rather than smaller fighters, where the angles get awkward, and reckons he carries more power, more muscle and — thanks to his age — comparable speed. It's confident talk from a man who's done nothing but win lately.

Whether O'Malley bites is another matter. A former champ chasing his belt back has little incentive to risk it against a hungry climber with a finish rate trending the wrong way for opponents. For now, Talbott's immediate future runs through Abu Dhabi. He gets to watch Yan and Merab settle their feud, then make his case accordingly.