Despite an impressive performance at UFC 303, Payton Talbott didn’t get the VIP treatment many might have expected him to receive.
Rising UFC Star Payton Talbott KO’s Opponent in 20 Seconds at UFC 303
As Talbott revealed on The MMA Hour on July 1, he was promptly escorted out of the T-Mobile Arena after his fight and denied reentry.
“No [I didn’t watch the main event] they kick you out!” Payton exclaimed. “They’re like ‘Do you have a ticket?’ And I was like, ‘I just fought,’ and they’re like, ‘No exceptions, man.’… Yeah, they wouldn’t let me back in.”
In previous years, UFC hosted its fighters in VIP rooms, where they could enjoy food and viewing pleasures. Talbott explained that this wasn’t the case anymore and that he didn’t get a chance to shower before being escorted outside.
“…They got rid of it with COVID. … As soon as you’re done with your media, you’re out. No [I didn’t get to shower]… No I didn’t even know there were showers there… I went back to the Airbnb, streamed the rest of the fights and then we went and saw Cascade [a DJ].”
Fans might remember a similar incident with light heavyweight fighter Johnny Walker at UFC 279. Walker was forced out of the T-Mobile Arena after his first round submission over Ion Cutelaba, he was filmed walking around Las Vegas in his fight gear.
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) September 11, 2022
“So UFC just came and kicked us out. No tickets for us and not allowed stay back stage to watch. Pulled out back door, kicked out, no even shoes on.” – Coach John Kavanagh on Walker’s removal.
UFC 303 News: Watch Payton Talbott Roast Champ Sean O’Malley & Top Bantamweights
Whether this is standard practice for the UFC or specific to the T-Mobile Arena, it’s still damning in any context that the fighters were not allowed to rest, change, or shower before being escorted out.t.
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