Payton Talbot kicked off the UFC 317 main card back to the victory column with an impressive performance with Felipe Lima.
In the opening round, Talbot and Lima were engaged in some interesting grappling exchanges. Lima managed to score early, but Talbot did a good job scrambling his path above and getting off some solid ground and pound strikes.
Eventually Lima regained his dominant position, but struggled to get back on Talbot’s mat.
Talbot began to develop his new ground game for the second time, reaching over lima three times during the stanza. Tablotto ended the round with a full mount and dropped a bomb that forced the Brazilian to give up on his back. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time left for Talbot to take advantage of the position.
Potentially in the second round, Lima quickly tried to get things down to the third mat. He managed to do so, but Talbot came back late in the round and turned the table.
After cutting out Lima with a spinning heel kick near the fence, Talbot mounted Lima and dropped it down to his opponent through the final bell, securing his fourth career victory with the Octagon.
Official Results: Payton Talbott def. Feliperima (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)