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The top UFC betting and DFS plays for this weekend's UFC 311 card are up, as well as breakdowns of betting and lineup strategy, plus predictions for the entire event.
UFC 311 takes place Saturday, so it's time to break down the top fights, plus make DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
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Falls as historic favorite
Talbott lost to Raoni Barcelos via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 26-30) at UFC 311 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
ANALYSIS
Talbott becomes the second top prospect of the evening to suffer his first career defeat, joining Rinya Nakamura. Entering as a -1200 favorite, Talbott was on the defensive from the very start. He couldn't keep Barcelos off of him. He gave up eight takedowns on 15 attempts, good for 9:43 worth of control time. The constant work from the bottom resulted in Payton's gas tank quickly draining, limiting his ability to make headway on the feet later on. Talbott is young enough (26) and talented to overcome this setback, but his timeline has most definitely been altered following this result.
Talbott becomes the second top prospect of the evening to suffer his first career defeat, joining Rinya Nakamura. Entering as a -1200 favorite, Talbott was on the defensive from the very start. He couldn't keep Barcelos off of him. He gave up eight takedowns on 15 attempts, good for 9:43 worth of control time. The constant work from the bottom resulted in Payton's gas tank quickly draining, limiting his ability to make headway on the feet later on. Talbott is young enough (26) and talented to overcome this setback, but his timeline has most definitely been altered following this result.
Next fight scheduled
Talbott is scheduled to compete against Raoni Barcelos in a bantamweight fight at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
ANALYSIS
Barcelos is scheduled to be Talbott's first opponent in 2025. 2024 saw the undefeated bantamweight destroy Cameron Saaiman in two rounds and knock out Yanis Ghemmouri in 19 seconds.
Barcelos is scheduled to be Talbott's first opponent in 2025. 2024 saw the undefeated bantamweight destroy Cameron Saaiman in two rounds and knock out Yanis Ghemmouri in 19 seconds.
Another flawless performance
Talbott defeated Yanis Ghemmouri via KO (punches) at 0:19 of Round 1 at UFC 303 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Way too easy. It turned out entering as a -1600 favorite was nowhere near high enough for a kid that is quickly turning into one of the best overall prospects in the sport. Talbott fired off one massive jab up the middle, and Ghemmouri was done in an instant. The finishing blow would go on to earn him one of four $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses awarded on the evening. Talbott called out Adrian Yanez in his post-fight interview, which would be a matchup that makes some sense. It's clear as day this kid needs to be pushed a bit moving forward. He's far too good to face fringe-roster opponents.
Way too easy. It turned out entering as a -1600 favorite was nowhere near high enough for a kid that is quickly turning into one of the best overall prospects in the sport. Talbott fired off one massive jab up the middle, and Ghemmouri was done in an instant. The finishing blow would go on to earn him one of four $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses awarded on the evening. Talbott called out Adrian Yanez in his post-fight interview, which would be a matchup that makes some sense. It's clear as day this kid needs to be pushed a bit moving forward. He's far too good to face fringe-roster opponents.
Announced for UFC 303
Talbott will fight Yanis Ghemmouri at bantamweight for UFC 303 on Jun. 29.
ANALYSIS
Talbott will get his third official UFC fight after going 2-0 with a submission over Nick Aguirre in his debut and recent TKO against Cameron Saaiman. The 25-year-old bantamweight will look to keep the ball rolling against Yanis Ghemmouri whose most recent official fight was a loss in September at UFC Paris.
Talbott will get his third official UFC fight after going 2-0 with a submission over Nick Aguirre in his debut and recent TKO against Cameron Saaiman. The 25-year-old bantamweight will look to keep the ball rolling against Yanis Ghemmouri whose most recent official fight was a loss in September at UFC Paris.
Destroys Cameron Saaiman
Talbott defeated Cameron Saaiman via TKO (punches) at 0:21 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
What was expected to be a competitive bout between two talented prospects quickly turned into a rout. Talbott stuffed three takedown attempts from Saaiman in Round 1 and proceeded to batter his opponent on the feet. Cameron survived the first frame, but Talbott opened Round 2 with a knockdown and got Saaiman out of there with some follow-up shots. This was not an easy fight for Payton, but he passed the test with flying colors and earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus along the way. The 25-year-old Nevada native remains a fighter to keep an eye on as 2024 continues.
What was expected to be a competitive bout between two talented prospects quickly turned into a rout. Talbott stuffed three takedown attempts from Saaiman in Round 1 and proceeded to batter his opponent on the feet. Cameron survived the first frame, but Talbott opened Round 2 with a knockdown and got Saaiman out of there with some follow-up shots. This was not an easy fight for Payton, but he passed the test with flying colors and earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus along the way. The 25-year-old Nevada native remains a fighter to keep an eye on as 2024 continues.