Preview: UFC 303 Prelims

Bantamweights

Payton Talbott (8-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (12-2, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Talbott (-1600), Ghemmouri (+900)

Talbott was one of the standouts of the 2023 edition of the Contender Series, and the 25-year-old has done an impressive job of building on that potential. Talbott’s career has shown a clear understanding that pace and activity is what wins most mixed martial arts fights, though there was the belief that he’d have to clean up his technique at some point. He has the youthful durability to eat whatever offense comes his way and keep swamping his opponent in volume, but wrestlers and grapplers have typically found success slowing Talbott’s momentum for long stretches at a time. That was the case in his UFC debut against Nick Aguirre, which eventually turned into a late Talbott win. However, Talbott’s March victory over Cameron Saaiman showed that his defensive issues might not even matter for the time being. Talbott was suddenly precise enough in his offense that he was able to finish a historically durable fighter with little issue. Ghemmouri is next up for Talbott in what seems to be set up as a showcase fight for the younger prospect, though this is a much better fight for the Frenchman to show his wares than his UFC debut. Due to some late card shuffling in September, he wound up debuting up a weight class and getting neutralized by countryman William Gomis. Ghemmouri is a solid wrestler and grappler who mostly looks to hit big counters on the feet, and he’s rangy enough to cause some issues for Talbott. Still, with Talbott’s commitment to pressure and volume, the American figures to clearly win rounds if not pour things on enough to finish the fight outright. The pick is Talbott via decision.

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