UFC 332: What Payton Talbott said leading up to his fight with Deiveson Figueiredo
UFC is back in Salt Lake City for its fourth numbered event in the state with Silva vs. Wang as the main event for UFC 332.
The last event at the Delta Center featured a sold-out crowd in 2024 for UFC 307. Previous visits include UFC 278 and UFC 291.
While UFC holds events just about every week, UFC numbered events take place around once a month and attract much more attention.
Leading up to Saturday’s fights, fans will have the opportunity to attend a press conference on Thursday, ceremonial weigh-ins and a fan experience outside the Delta Center before the fights begin.
The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Oct. 1
UFC 332: Press conference
Where: Salt Palace Convention Center
Time: 3 to 4:30 p.m. MDT
Participants:
- Natalia Silva — No. 1 UFC women’s flyweight
- Wang Cong — No. 8 UFC women’s flyweight
- Deiveson Figueiredo — No. 9 UFC bantamweight
- Payton Talbott — No. 11 UFC bantamweight
- King Green — UFC lightweight
- Esteban Ribovics — UFC lightweight
- Roberto Soldic — UFC welterweight
- Khaos Williams — UFC welterweight
- Ateba Gautier — UFC middleweight
- Roman Kopylov — UFC middleweight
Details: This free event opens to the public at 3 p.m. before the press conference begins at 4 p.m. It will also be available live on UFC.com.
Following the press conference, UFC fighters Uros Medic and Tracy Cortez will visit the Boys and Girls Club of Salt Lake City during the Spence Eccles Club’s afterschool program. The visit will be closed to the public.
Friday, Oct. 2
UFC 332: Official weigh-ins
Time: 8 to 11 a.m. MDT
Details: The official weigh-ins will be closed to the public but you can follow along by watching the official weigh-in show on YouTube, UFC.com, Facebook and UFC Fight Pass. Live updates can also be found on UFC.com and official UFC social media.
UFC332: Ceremonial weigh-ins
Where: Salt Palace Convention Center
When: 3 to 4:30 p.m. MDT
Details: Doors open to the public at 3 p.m. when fans can file in to view the free event starting at 4 p.m. It is also available to watch online at UFC.com.
Saturday, Oct. 3
UFC 332: Fan experience
Where: Delta Center Plaza
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. MDT
Details: The Delta Center Plaza will feature an immersive experience where fans will be able to take a selfie with the UFC Legacy Championship Belt, participate in a UFC Striking Challenge and purchase official UFC merchandise at the UFC Store. This free event will also include a meet and greet with UFC athletes between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and then 1 and 2 p.m.
UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang
Where: Delta Center
When: 1 to 9 p.m. MDT
Details: Doors open at 1 p.m. before the UFC 332 early prelims begin at 2 p.m. on Paramount+. The event’s prelims will take place at 4 p.m. ahead of UFC 332 going live on Paramount+ and CBS.
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Payton Talbott
The co-main event will be a bantamweight bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Payton Talbott.
Talbott spoke to the Deseret News in September about his career and the upcoming fight.
Just starting out as a new college student who missed having a sport fill his time, Talbott, a psychology major the University of Nevada, Reno, saw MMA highlights on TV and thought to himself, “maybe this can be my new ‘grown up sport.’”
“I didn’t even know that MMA was a thing,” he said. “I went to the closest gym to me, took a drop-in class and got humbled super quick.”
But despite the humbling he received that first day, and the days that followed, to the novice fighter, there was something satisfying about his newfound sport.
“I actually really enjoyed the fact that I was not very good at first, and I was like, ‘There’s a lot of room for improvement,’” he said. “And not only just from a sport perspective, but the fact that I should do a better job of being able to defend myself.”
Nearly 10 years after picking up the sport, Talbott finds himself as one of the up-and-comers in the UFC. In his most recent fight, he took down Henry Cejudo, who was one of the few fighters to ever hold multiple titles in different weight divisions (Bantamweight and Flyweight divisions).
It was one of those matchups Talbott was proud to be a part of given Cejudo’s career achievements.
“I learned that confidence and hard work can take you a really long way. I think throughout my entire life, Henry has probably been a better athlete,” Talbott said of Cejudo. “I think there was a picture of a side-by-side of what we were doing in 2008. It was my third-grade school picture and it was him running around with the Olympic gold medal. When you put things into perspective that way, it’s crazy to assume that I’d be able to take him down.”
The fight with Talbott was Cejudo’s last fight before retiring from the UFC.
For Talbott, there is never any animosity toward his opponents.
“I don’t think the switch ever flips. I think throughout the whole fight, although you’re trying to beat each other and you’re trying to win, you’re forming a bond between you and your opponent,” he said. “You build this sort of bond, like somebody you go to war with. It just happens that we’re at war against each other, and there’s a bell that marks the end.”
Hatred does not take you very far in a fight. Instead, Talbott goes into a fight with respect for the one he’s fighting because “respect keeps you honest. It allows you to not underestimate (your opposition), but it also allows you to go about (the fight) picking (your opponent) apart with skill and professionalism.”
What to expect from the fight
As the fight between Talbott and Figueiredo nears, Talbott says to expect two guys fighting “like their lives depend on it.
“I think Figgy’s kind of on his way out, so I think he’s going to show up with a lot of intention to end on the right note. And I’ve obviously been in that position before against somebody, so I always bring the fight. That’s always a guarantee.”
Figueiredo is currently ranked ninth in the bantamweight division while Talbott is 11th.