The Rookies: UFC Fight Night 232

Now it gets real for Payton Talbott.

The undefeated 25-year-old prospect will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut opposite Nick Aguirre in a UFC Fight Night 232 bantamweight showcase on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. One of three UFC rookies—Rafael Estevam and Caio Machado are the others—on the card, Talbott operates out of the Reno Academy of Combat in his native Nevada.

“This is where I want to be,” Talbott told Biskinik, the official newspaper of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “I want to fight the toughest guys, and I want to throw hands with the most dangerous people on the planet, and that is what the UFC is right now.”

Talbott carries a perfect 6-0 record with five finishes. He booked his ticket to the UFC with a three-round unanimous decision over Reyes Cortez Jr. during Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Aug. 8. Talbott found his rhythm in the second round, called upon overwhelming forward pressure and unleashed his considerable weaponry, from wicked left hooks to the body and snappy one-twos to punishing jabs and sneaky knees up the middle. His handiwork resulted in a horizontal gash above Cortez’s left eye that was significant enough to warrant an examination from the cageside physician. Talbott picked up where he left off in the third, continued to pile up points and never looked back. By the time it was over, he had connected with 145 significant strikes.

“It lit a fire under me because I knew I could’ve done much better in that fight,” Talbott said. “I look forward to how much more I can bring to the UFC.”

Aguirre trains out of the Valle Flow Striking outfit and finds himself on the rebound ahead of his second Octagon assignment. The 27-year-old last appeared at UFC Fight Night 217, where he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous verdict against Dan Argueta on Jan. 14. Aguirre has secured all seven of his professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

“When my opponent is at his best,” Talbott said, “then I usually fight at my best.”

Meanwhile, two other rookies are slated for action in separate preliminary assignments, as the unbeaten Estevam takes on former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Charles Johnson in a three-round flyweight clash and Machado takes aim at Michael Parkin in a three-round heavyweight tilt.

Estevam, 27, has rattled off 11 consecutive victories to start his career. The former Shooto Brazil titleholder was awarded a spot on the UFC roster in September, when he buried Joao Elias with punches in the second round of their DWCS pairing. Seven of Estevam’s 11 wins have resulted in finishes. In Johnson, he faces an opponent reeling from back-to-back losses. The 32-year-old Murcielago MMA product has not fought since being outpointed by Cody Durden at UFC on ESPN 45 some seven months ago.

Machado enters the cage on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak. Like the aforementioned Talbott, the 29-year-old Canada-based Brazilian earned his place in the UFC during Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series in August, when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Kevin Szaflarski. A former Battlefield Fight League titleholder, Machado has not tasted defeat in more than five years. In Parkin, he draws a knockout-minded Englishman who has posted a 7-0 mark to this point in his career. “Mick” last suited up at UFC Fight Night 224, where he outstruck Jamal Pogues to a clear-cut unanimous decision.