Payton Talbott claimed his biggest win to date by earning a dominant decision win over the retiring Henry Cejudo tonight at UFC 323.
Round One
Low kicks from Cejudo to start. Good right hand from Talbott lands clean. Now a low kick from him.
Left hand lands for Cejudo. Now a calf kick from him. He lands another. Jab for Talbott. Two more calf kicks from Cejudo.
Inside leg kick from Talbott. Glancing punch from Cejudo. Cejudo attempts a takedown, but Talbott fends it off.
One-two from Talbott. Inside leg kick from Talbott. They clinch up, but not for long. Light one-two from Talbott. Cejudo complains about a potential eye-poke and gets a brief time-out.
Back to it they go. Takedown from Cejudo, but Talbott gets right back up. Nice punches from Talbott.
Talbott suddenly lands a trip takedown and then celebrates for a moment at having taken down a former Olympic wrestling gold medalist. Talbott in Cejudo’s guard here and staying patient in relatively unfamiliar territory for him. Cecjudo tries for elbows from his back.
They’ve worked over towards the cage and Cejudo is able to stand under pressure and then get away from the clinch.
Cejudo looking to pressure now late in the round on the feet, but remarkably Talbott counters by landing another takedown with authority. No-one saw this strategy from Talbott coming, but it showcases a real improvement in his skill-set.
Round Three
Leg kicks for Cejudo. He’s trying to work for punches, but gets caught by Talbott and falls to the canvas.
Cejudo back up and tries for a lateral drop. Talbott doesn’t go down, but in the resulting scramble is able to get on top in half-guard.
Cejudo moves to side control, but opts to go back to half-guard. Talbott scrambles to his knees. Now he’s able to stand, but Cejudo is clinched to his back. Talbott able to turn into him though and soon after gets back to striking range.
Talbott rips to the body. Right hand from Cejudo. More strikes from Talbott and Cejudo is reacting poorly to the body shots. Talbott pouring it on, but then Cejudo starts firing back hard and lands. Talbott staying in there though and knocks Cejudo to the mat with another punch.
Cejudo’s back up with his face all busted up. He’s still trying to throw down and lands a hard low kick. He’s still struggling with the body shots though.
Round Three
Leg kick from Cejudo landed well. Jab from Talbott. A couple of short left hands land for him. Knee upstairs from Talbott, but Cejudo lands a nice counter-punch.
Talbott picking out a few punches, then a counter from Talbott. Cejudo tries for a takedown, but Talbott stays upright and tries to do the same to him. They end up in the clinch. Cejudo’s wincing but battles on.
Talbott trying for a takedown, but ends up pulling Cejudo down on top of him in full mount. He’s able to scramble back up though and presses Cejudo up against the cage.
They go back to striking range. Cejudo attempts a big takedown, but Talbott stays upright.
Front kick to the body for Talbott. Cejudo snatches for a single, but Cejudo fends that off. They remain clinched up in the center of the Octagon. Cejudo disengages and punches.
Talbott tags him with another body shot and Cejudo almost folded, but digs deep and tries to counter with a takedown that doesn’t pay off.
Talbott clinching up now against the cage. He opts to back away. Final 10 seconds. Talbott pointing to the center of the mat with a smile and then starts firing off punches, with Cejudo responding in kind. Big knee upstairs from Talbott, then a spinning head kick attempt that misses.
Decision
Talbott impressed tonight by not only beating up Cejudo on the feet, but also managing to take him down twice as well. Cejudo showed exceptional toughness even at this late stage in his career to make it to the final bell in what is also the final fight of his career, but it’s Talbott who emerges with the unanimous decision victory (30-27 x3).
