Payton Talbott needed just one round to take care of business against Deiveson Figueiredo on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City. The 28 year old American immediately called out Sean O’Malley, the former champion who currently sits at number two in the bantamweight rankings.
A finish with no room for debate
Talbott wasted no time, landing a one-two combination that dropped Figueiredo within the opening seconds of the bout. The American kept the pressure on from there, mixing ground strikes with solid takedown defense as Figueiredo looked for an opening to change the pace. A fresh flurry of punches eventually forced referee Jason Herzog to step in and wave off the fight. The official time of stoppage was 2:09 of round one. Figueiredo looked spent almost immediately and never found a way to turn the fight back in his favor against the kind of fast, high-output pace that has become something of a trademark for Talbott every time he steps into the Octagon.
A second former champion added to the resume
At 38, Deiveson Figueiredo remains one of the most respected names in UFC history. Known as “Deus da Guerra,” the Brazilian held the flyweight title on two separate occasions before moving up to bantamweight (135 pounds, or 61 kilograms) in search of a new challenge late in his career. For Talbott, this win marks his second straight victory over a former UFC champion, a résumé line that carries real weight in a division looking for its next clear-cut contender behind the belt. Few fighters in the weight class can point to a run like this against opposition of that caliber over back-to-back outings, and it is exactly the kind of result that tends to move a fighter up the line for a ranked opponent rather than another gatekeeper test.
O’Malley in the crosshairs
Microphone in hand after the finish, Talbott did not waste words. “Sean O’Malley, you can’t run forever. Give the people what they want,” he said, pointing squarely at the former champion. Moments earlier, he had described mopping the floor with two champions back to back before demanding a step up in competition. The callout fits squarely into the UFC’s tradition of statement-making moments in the cage right after a signature win. O’Malley, who lost the belt to Merab Dvalishvili in September 2024 after a one year reign, still holds the number two spot in the bantamweight rankings following his June win over Aiemann Zahabi. A matchup between the two would pit one of the division’s most recognizable faces against one of its hottest rising names.
A record-setting night at the Delta Center
The Talbott-Figueiredo fight was part of a stacked UFC 332 card at the Delta Center that delivered one finish after another all night long, headlined by Natalia Silva’s unanimous decision win over Wang Cong for the vacant flyweight title. The event produced one of the highest finish rates in recent UFC history, with several fighters picking up performance bonuses before the night was through. That context only adds to how Talbott’s statement landed, coming on a card that was already defined by quick stoppages and momentum swings from top to bottom in Utah.
What it means for the bantamweight division
The 135 pound division remains one of the deepest in the UFC, and a Talbott-O’Malley booking would be a natural headline-grabber for the months ahead. Nothing has been confirmed by the promotion at this point, and UFC CEO Dana White has not publicly addressed Talbott’s callout. Current champion Merab Dvalishvili is next up on the promotion’s priority list, with a title defense against Petr Yan set for October 24 at UFC 333. That packed schedule could push a potential Talbott-O’Malley fight further down the calendar while the division sorts out its contender picture over the coming months. Either way, Talbott has done exactly what a fighter chasing a marquee matchup needs to do: win in dominant fashion, call out a bigger name, and let the division decide whether the demand makes sense. Fans can follow the full UFC rankings and complete UFC 332 results at mma-official.com, along with the UFC schedule for what comes next this season.
