Payton Talbott denied re-entry to UFC 303 after 19-second knockout win: ‘They wouldn’t let me back in’

Payton Talbott was in and out of UFC 303 faster than anyone else on the card this past weekend (June 29, 2024).

Needing only 19 seconds, the hot Bantamweight prospect, Talbott, broke in the new UFC gloves with a clean starching of Yanis Ghemmouri for the knockout win (watch highlights). Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get to enjoy any of the following action from his peers.

The MMA Hour. “They were like, ‘Do you have a ticket?’ I was like, ‘I just fought.’ They’re like, ‘No exceptions, man.’ Are you joking? (laughs)

“They wouldn’t let me back in,” he continued. “They got rid of [the VIP room] with COVID. As soon as you’re done with your media, you’re out. No [shower], I took one when I got [back to the AirBnB]. I didn’t even know there were showers there.”

This isn’t the first instance reported of UFC fighters getting exiled from the arena in Las Vegas. Poor Johnny Walker didn’t even get to wear his shoes on the way out after his UFC 279 submission of Ion Cutelaba (watch highlights).

Talbott, 25, extended his perfect record to 9-0 with the win at UFC 303. The knockout of Ghemmouri was only his third appearance in the Octagon after he earned his contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2023.