UFC 317 is going down this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Opening up the main card of the International Fight Week event is Payton Talbott, coming off his first career defeat in January this year against Raoni Barcelos. Standing opposite Talbott is another young up-and-comer in Felipe Lima.
So why is this matchup a risk for Talbott and the UFC?
Lima opened up as a -150 favorite in this encounter, while Talbott is considered an underdog for the first time in his UFC career at +130.
Under the announcement post for this UFC 317 bout, many people wound up picking Lima to win as well, though Talbott supporters are not fully gone.
“Talbott about to get exposed AGAIN. The kid is a good striker but he won’t crack top 15 if he cannot defend a take down,” one of the top comments read.
“Easy Lima W.”
“It is time to shine, Payton will take this one easy, and shut all your mouths, we are back in game babe,” another user said.
The first blemish on the previously clean record could hit a prospect hard. While Talbott doesn’t seem like a big ego type, it has got to be a factor coming into his fight with Lima. The shake in confidence might make him gun-shy, or the opposite, he’ll be more reckless than usual in an attempt to wash off the sour taste of defeat.
It all remains a speculation until the UFC 317 fight night. What is not a speculation is the fact that Barcelos was able to dictate his fight with Talbott, as he pushed him against the cage and controlled him on the ground. This bout exposed a whole dimension where he lacked expertise due to being inexperience.
Lima is exactly the type of fighter to explore this weakness further. Although both of his UFC bouts were in large part contested on the feet, “Jungle Boy” is no stranger to the wrestling shoes.
In his title-winning effort against the then-Oktagon-champion Jonas Magard, Lima showcased his grappling in its full beauty. Throughout five back-and-forth wrestling-heavy rounds, Lima proved his ability to deliver takedowns, threaten submissions, and reverse positions. The double leg slam in the third round reminded everyone that “Jungle Boy” is Khamzat Chimaev’s teammate.
Like many Brazilian boys, Lima was taken to a BJJ gym at a young age and developed his MMA style from there. While there is no doubt the man loves his striking, the opportunity to once again test Talbott’s grappling might prove too seductive for him.
Lima also has a perfect build to make his takedown entries a worry for Talbott in this fight. Standing at 5’6”, he is dense for the bantamweight division (135 lbs), and has competed in the featherweight division (145 lbs) in both his previous UFC appearances.
To add to everything mentioned previously, there are real reasons to believe Lima has the striking to hang in there with Talbott and potentially even outstrike him.
The matchmaking might seem wild at first sight, but there is another element to the picture. Lima revealed to MMA Junkie that he had known about the fight date before Talbott, as the initial plan had been for him to face Jonathan Martinez. It seems as though Talbott was the last resort, in a way, for the UFC to bring attention to this fight at the International Fight Week.
All in all, the fight is an exciting addition to UFC 317 and is one of the bigger talking points of the card.
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