Payton Talbott won against Nick Aguirre via submission in Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 232. Nonetheless, Talbott knows that his first round was far from impressive, saying after being caught from the takedown of the opponent, he “woke up” to reverse the situation.
The first round wasn’t really for Talbott after Aguirre managed to deliver a takedown, which consumed the time remaining. Talbott, nonetheless, managed to become the dominant power by the second round. In Round 3, Talbott sent a powerful kick that affected Aguirre, which hinted at his chance to mount the opponent. The debutant then ended the fight with a rear-naked choke, pushing Aguirre to give him his first submission win in his career. The bantamweight bout then ended at the 0:58 mark of Round 3.
During his interview after the fight, the fighter acknowledged the problematic Round 1. Yet, from there, the new UFC fighter shared that this brought him back to his push his aim.
“I think I learned kind of sloppy in the first round, but I woke up,” Talbott told Paul Felder during his post-fight interview. “I’m my worst critic at the end of the day, and no one is harder on me than myself.”
This is an interesting win for Talbott as aside from winning via submission, it is his debut in UFC. UFC President Dana White affirmed the potential of the new fighter after witnessing it on the Contender Series. There, Talbott made a Contender Series record by landing 145 significant strikes and stuffing 16 of his opponent’s 17 takedown attempts.
“This kid is an absolute predator,” White said. “He keeps moving forward, he seems unfazed by everything that happens, he plays the mental game, he keeps talking to his opponent. He’s only 24 years old. If this kid can keep his head together, I can’t wait to see him at 27.”
