Payton Talbott’s hype train suffered a major blow earlier this year when Raoni Barcelos dominated the bantamweight prospect en route to a decision win at UFC 311, and now Felipe Lima aims to derail it altogether when they meet Saturday at UFC 317.
Barcelos and Talbott open the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, giving the experienced Brazilian a chance to go 3-0 in the organization over a highly-touted talent.
“Talbott likes to strike, he likes to put pressure on the opponent,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “He’s failed on the ground [against Barcelos] but I think he’s a good fighter with great striking. But there are many holes in his game. I know what he will try to do. He thinks all I want is to take him down and hold him there, but he’s dead wrong. He will try to pressure me, but I’ll press him back. It’s going to be a great fight for the fans. And I’m glad they moved it to the main card.”
Lima choked out Muhammad Naimov in his UFC debut in Saudi Arabia and then defeated Miles Johns via decision in Tampa, a match he took on short notice despite battling health issues. He finally returns to his original weight class to face Talbott, and vows to be even more dominant at bantamweight.
“I’m way faster at 135,” Lima said. “This is my division. I’m heavier and slower at 145, that’s not my weight class. I’m happy to be back to my division, and I can’t wait [for UFC 317].”
A former Oktagon champion based in Sweden, Lima said the original plan for UFC 317 was a clash with Jonathan Martinez, but he was in need for a new opponent being informed Martinez fractured his orbital bone in training. Two weeks went by with no one accepting to step in, Lima said, and that’s when he was paired up against Talbott.
“I was getting frustrated because I was training, I was on a diet and ready to go, and I feared that I wouldn’t fight at UFC 317,” Lima said. “I don’t know what to think when others don’t want to fight me. I think it’s the risk of fighting someone unranked. I don’t know how the negotiations went, but fighting at UFC 317 is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss. when they called me I said yes, regardless of the opponent. I’ll never choose fights.”
Unbeaten since dropping his MMA debut in his native Amazonas back in 2015 and riding a 14-fight winning streak over nearly a decade along with a 50 percent finish rate, Lima predicts he stops Talbott “in the second round, or late in the third.”
“It’s a great opportunity to fight him because he has all this hype behind him, many followers,” Lima said. “It’s a good name to beat and put my name for people out there in the UFC to see, you know? The UFC was already looking to put me against ranked fighters because they were having a hard time finding a normal opponent, reason why they went for Jonathan Martinez. Winning this fight takes me to another level, and I’m sure it will put me next against a top 10.”
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