Good Friday one and all. Welcome to this week’s mailbag post where I share the staff’s answers to your questions.
As always, you posed some great ones on Monday and I was able to get a lot of responses this week. Thanks to your questions we got to talk a lot about what went down at UFC 332. There wasn’t anything about this upcoming UFC Vegas 122 show, though… I wonder why.
Anyways, here’s what we did answer!
Payton Talbott the real deal?
Question: Is Payton Talbott really all that or is he just beating up washed old men? (or TBF
do we really not know yet?) (LoneCowboy)
Alex Behunin: I have doubted Talbott for most of his UFC run – I thought Saaiman, Lima, and Cejudo were going to derail him, but he sure proved me wrong. I’m done doubting him. Sure, he beat Cejudo and Figgy way past their prime, but it’s the way he whooped them that is impressive.
Will he be champion? Idk, but he’s getting better and better.
Thomas Myers: I am all aboard the Talbott Express – he’s always so composed, even when put in dangerous positions. I absolutely love the Sean O’Malley match up, but I think Talbott should maybe get one more fight in before that happens – his recent inactivity has really worked against him in 2026. I’d love for him to take Raul Rosas’ No. 8 seed (and I believe he would, easily) before we head into 2027. Rosas would also help Talbott lower his average opponent age, too.
Ryan Harkness: If Payton Talbott had fought three times this year like he fought three times in 2025, we’d know the answer to this. Is it the UFC’s fault he’s only fought once this year, against the corpse of former great Deiveson Figueiredo? Or the fault of other on-the-up fighters refusing to fight him? This is one of those questions where there’s no way to know the answer until he competes more. Alas, he’s now in that zone where every fight could lead to a title shot if it’s the right match-up. That’s never a recipe for more activity.
Tim Edwards: I was really impressed with Talbott. Figueiredo is way past his best, but he’s still a tough guy and this is the first time he’s been legitimately stopped. His two prior TKO losses were an eye injury and a knee injury. Talbott being able to hit and rattle Figueiredo showed a lot of speed, power and technique. And I think that’s going to translate to fights with bigger names in the division. I’m not sure if he will ever challenge for a title, though. That’s just because of how deep Bantamweight feels at the moment. But I’d love to see him move up the ladder and start fighting guys like O’Malley, Song and Sandhagen.
Was Silva vs. Wang that bad?
Q: People dumped on Silva v Cong both during and after the fight. Although I don’t think it lived up to its potential, I also don’t think it was that bad. Had Cong stepped on the gas a round earlier, it actually could have been pretty good. So, was it as bad as some would have us believe, or did it just suffer from being on a card with a record number of KOs? (RookieWannaBe)
Alex Behunin: While the fight wasn’t unwatchable, it was completely forgettable – it didn’t help that it was on a numbered card.
Also, I hate watching Natalia Silva point fight so yeah.
Ryan Harkness: Point fighting is exactly what it is. There was no danger or urgency on display in that fight, and more generally across all women’s divisions in the UFC right now. Remember what a sadist Joanna Jedrzejczyk was in the cage? How Amanda Nunes went for the kill when she smelled blood? This modern WMMA crop feel more like athletes than fighters. No one’s out to hurt each other, everyone is carefully cruising to wins rather than pushing for a finish.
This isn’t a gendered issue, per se. There’s plenty of men’s fights where once you’ve seen the first round, you know how the rest of the fight will go. But it’s certainly a more pronounced issue right now with the current crop of women fighting in the UFC.
Thomas Myers: It was a glorified sparring session at the end of the day. I think UFC matchmakers were hoping for some sort of striking showcase when it decided to tap Cong – who has a kickboxing win over Valentina Shevchenko way back when – instead of a more deserving contender. UFC never even really leveraged the Shevchenko angle or promoted the fight in any way, shape or form – Dana White was totally unprepared to make this even sound remotely interesting. I think it was maybe a good idea in the “war room,” but UFC, White, Silva and Cong all failed to live up to their ends of the bargain. Lazy!
Tim Edwards: I thought the fight was fine. I do think Wang’s late flourish did help move it from a bad fight to an OK fight, though. If she let Silva continue to just peck away at her over those last two rounds, then I think there would be a lot more reason to call it a stinker. We’ve seen worse fights than this, though, recently — and not just from the ladies. Remember Ankalaev vs. Guskov? Walker vs. Reyes? These things happen. I do think this fight suffered from how bonkers the card was leading up to it, but when viewed in a vacuum… Silva vs. Wang was alright. I’m not calling a rematch anytime soon, though.
What’s the point (deduction)?
Q: Why have point deductions for fouls generally become a thing of the past? (MixedMartialAids)
Andrew Richardson: It’s always been this way? I’d argue fans are just more aware of it now. Remember when Frank Trigg almost won UFC gold by kneeing Matt Hughes in the nuts? No warning, no points, no change two decades later.
Thomas Myers: Were they ever a thing? Fouling in UFC is so common, along with fighters not being penalized for it. I’ve said it a million times: If I were a fighter, I would be Jon Jones (or, Cyril Gane in 2026). Eye pokes, low blows, fence grabs, hands in gloves – I’d go until they finally took a point. Because you can get pretty far being dirty inside the Octagon without getting any points deducted. The lack of consistency drives me absolutely bonkers.
Alex Behunin: It sure feels like it is getting worse. From what I know, the referees have made it very clear they just don’t want to take points because they don’t want to alter fights … which is so stupid.
I think refs should take points for the first foul no matter what – eye poke, nut shot, fence grab, etc.
Jesse Holland: Referees are like MMA journalists. They wanna stay on the good side of UFC to keep their spot on the roster. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, right? Who do you think hires the referees for all those fight cards that take place in territories without an athletic commission? Speaking of referees, I keep wanting them to bring back the yellow card from PRIDE but we know that ain’t gonna happen.
Ryan Harkness: I don’t know if fouls were ever really getting called, but everyone knows in their bones now that you get two to three free fouls per fight before a point deduction is gonna happen. So why not use them? There’s no incentive not to stick your fingers out into the eyes of your opponent. Throw that wild kick towards the groin. Throw that iffy punch to the back of the head. As Tito Ortiz said, if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying.
Tim Edwards: I wish I knew the real answer to this. And I wish the referees would consider their instruction in the fighters’ meeting as their first and only warning for eye pokes, low blows, illegal strikes and fence grabs. We’ve seen lots of fights drastically altered due to those fouls this year. I’m pretty sure that if fighters went down a point on the first offense, we’d see a whole lot less of them.
Pinas Envy
Q: That was a nasty finish from Pinas, left him stiff. Is he the real deal, or just the next hype job waiting to be derailed? (Jack Reacharound)
Alex Behunin: Ultimately, time will tell, but the fact that he nuked Pulyaev and Almeida gives me a lot of hope that he’s the real deal. I feel like he’s going to get a step up in his next outing.
Ryan Harkness: Pinas is just 24 but already looking like an inevitable top ten guy at middleweight. It’s way too early to say if he’s ‘the real deal,’ though. Let’s ask again in two years when he’s gone through the UFC wringer, dealt with an injury or two, maybe had to fight with said injuries, maybe spent nine months waiting for a fight because he’s not the shiny new toy on the matchmakers’ shelf. But I like what I see. The dude is pure violence.
Thomas Myers: Real deal! Effortless, clean, smart and just an overall specimen. Super excited to see what he can do moving forward. Yes, I would also like to see him face some adversity, but that will come in time as he inches closer to a Top 10 ranking. Give him one more fight between now and the end of the year – perhaps against someone like Edmen Shahbazyan (No. 15) – and if he passes that test, which I believe he will, I would love to see him fight the winner of Pyfer vs. Nickal in early 2027.
Tim Edwards: He certainly looks like the real deal to me. Everyone here has seen hundreds of fighters come and go and thousands of fights. And Pinas’ precision really stands out as special. He just has an effortless timing to his striking, which reminds me of peak Conor McGregor. It’s like he sees his opponent moving in slow motion and can just land his hand on the perfect undefended spot. It’s frightening. I guess the next move for him is to fight Roman Kopylov.
What’s next for Vettori?
Q: Marvin Vettori. What do you do with him? I mean he gets beat, but never finished and he’s always in it. What’s wrong with his game? It’s like you can’t really beat him, but there’s no clear path to victory for him besides the opponent breaking their hand on his head. (LoneCowboy)
Alex Behunin: It’s time to ship him to PFL. A couple of years ago, he would have beaten Ismail Naurdiev pretty easily.
His confidence is shot, he’s slow, and his chin is going to crack at some point.
I’m sure Andrew has a better idea of what’s wrong.
Thomas Myers: Definitely no longer a serious threat to any UFC title holder at 185 or 205 pounds. I would imagine he is expensive, too, based on his early success inside the Octagon. I think Dana White and Co. should cut him loose and let’s see what he can do for an organization like KSW.
Ryan Harkness: Cut him loose, let him fight back in Europe, and maybe the next big Italian dream will arrive off a notable win over the former contender.
Tim Edwards: Right now, losing streaks in UFC seem way less likely to get you bounced than at any other time in this sport. I think that might be because the UFC are trying to play keep-away with as much of their talent as possible. I imagine the UFC will want to just keep him on the books, whether he fights or not. The big question will be whether Vettori is satisfied with being trotted out on the prelims against opponents looking to leapfrog him. If he wants out, then he might get his wish. If that happens, he feels like exactly what PFL like to stack their roster with.
Gameplan for Pereira
Q: What changes between the Ciryl Gane fight, and this recently announced fight with Sergei Pavlovich, does Alex Pereira need to do in order to get the W? And what happens to Pereira should he lose this fight? (Igl00Man)
Alex Behunin: If Pereira loses, he should retire. He’s already an all-time great and hall of famer with nothing to prove. As for the fight, I’m not really sure about his path to victory other than hit and not get hit lol.
I just don’t think his power is going to transfer to Heavyweight but I guess we’ll see.
Ryan Harkness: There’s a reason weight classes exist, and it’s because you can do everything right and make all the changes and prepare in all the ways and still just get KTFO by someone much worse but much bigger than you. Pereira already did something amazing by capturing the middleweight and light heavyweight titles. If he captures the heavyweight belt it’ll be insane, because Ciryl Gane already showed “Poatan” is not a real heavyweight. A loss would be horrible in the moment, but a return to light heavyweight where he’s still better than 98% of the crop would erase any sour memories. Wrap it up with a finale against Jon Jones, and it’s *chef’s kiss*
Tim Edwards: I hate this fight for Pereira. Gane was bigger and faster than Pereira and that’s what caused him so much problems. I think he’s getting the same situation with Pavlovich. Pereira can’t get any bigger (bigger, not fatter) and he’s not getting any quicker. I don’t see a way for him to compete in this bout, let alone win it. When he loses this one, he has to be done with heavyweight. If he keeps fighting, I’d like to see him go down to light heavyweight again. But in that division, too, there doesn’t seem like any fights that are actually worth his while — unless you let him fight Ulberg if Ulberg is able to unify the titles when he comes back.
Fantasy Matchmaker
Q: What kind of matchups would you throw out if you could match up the current champs with any of their division’s previous champs? (cavemanoncomputer)
Alex Behunin:
- Alexander Volkanokvski vs. prime Conor McGregor
- Petr Yan vs. T.J Dillashaw
- Justin Gaethje vs. BJ Penn
- Islam vs. GSP
- Ulberg vs. Liddell?
Anton Tabuena: If we’re going with fantasy matches, I’d like to see how Islam vs. Khabib would’ve gone down. I guess they could just release old training footage, but it’d be fun to see how their prime versions would do against each other on the ground in an actual fight.
Tim Edwards:
- Joshua Van vs. Demetrious Johnson
- Petr Yan vs. the Renan Barao who fought Urijah Faber
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. BJ Penn at lightweight
- White House Justin Gaethje vs. Islam Makhachev
- Islam Makhachev vs. Georges St-Pierre
- Sean Strickland vs. Michael Bisping (imagine the build-up for that one)
- Carlos Ulberg vs. Alex Pereira
- Ciryl Gane vs. Tom Aspinall (Tommy needs revenge!)
Nice thing about the women’s divisions are that my answers are all probably happening.
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Zhang Weili
- Natalia Silva vs. Valentina Shevchenko
- Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes
Quick hits
Q: is Abeta Gautier the next Mansur Abdul-Malik to be derailed and spiral down or is he just a guy who got beat but will be back better? (LoneCowboy)
Alex Behunin: Ateba will bounce back as he’s only 24 years old and he’s with a good team. He just ran into a very, very good and very experienced Roman Kopylov – prior to Kopylov, Ateba was fighting dog shit competition and running through them.
As for Mansur, he’s extremely raw, and he’s basically learning on the job. His athleticism got him this far, now he’s going to put his head down and work.
Thomas Myers: Roman Kopylov might just be the most under-estimated contender on UFC’s roster. He is brick-fisted, fast and always pushes a diabolical pace. Helluva chin, too. I think he was way too much, too soon for Gautier, who is still just so raw. It was a good wake up call and he will now head back to the lab and come back stronger next time, spiral-free.
Tim Edwards: Hindsight is 20-20, but there were some warning signs in that Andrey Pulyaev fight. He’s still very young, though. I don’t think this is the end for him. I think he needs to go to a bigger camp to take a step forwards, though.
Q: Are we more likely to see Zuffa follow the UFC model of champs fighting when they feel like it or will the UFC follow the boxing model of stripping champs who won’t fight? (cavemanoncomputer)
Ryan Harkness: The champs don’t fight when they want, they fight when UFC lets them. And I think the UFC is doing a really bad job of handling their schedule. They save the biggest fights for their marquee cards like New York City and Abu Dhabi even if it means delaying a figher’s return for over half a year. They then leave the rest of their champs in a state of limbo until it comes time to try and fill holes at the top of cards, usually with less than three months to go. They also try to play one champ off another, saying ‘Take what we offer or we’ll go with this other title fight.’ It’s all pro-business, anti-fighter behavior and it just happens to be more apparent this year than usual.
Who did Bozo Penny piss off in order to get matched up with Joe Pyfer? (Igl00Man)
Alex Behunin: I actually love this matchup because I did not see it coming from a mile away. But it’s time for them to test Bo again, and if he actually beats Pyfer, he’s going to be ranked No. 4.
That said, I don’t know how he beats Pyfer other than using his elite wrestling and smothering “Bodybagz”
Thomas Myers: I’m shocked UFC actually booked this, considering both were considered blue-chip prospects not that long ago. But, I do like it – will give us a much better read on their overall skills: Can Pyfer handle a strong wrestler and/or can Nickal tame a brick-fisted knockout artist? I feel like we will know so much more about both fighters, good and bad, once this is over. Who is the pretender and who is the true contender?
