Preview: UFC Fight Night 232 ‘Allen vs. Craig’

Bantamweights

Payton Talbott (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Nick Aguirre (7-1, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Talbott (-550), Aguirre (+410)

It is now time for the most recent batch of Dana White’s Contender Series signings to start making their debuts, and Talbott is among the more interesting members of the 2023 crop. A young striker out of Nevada, Talbott seems to at least have the core of his game figured out, looking to pour pace and volume onto his opponents at every opportunity. Talbott’s fights can sometimes be a bit of an adventure, as opposing wrestlers have usually been able to control him for some length of time, but the results have been the same every time out; even if he does not find a late finish, Talbott does enough to clearly wind up the victor on the scorecards. This fight is in a similar mold, as Aguirre looks to rebound from an unmemorable UFC debut and upend Talbott’s momentum. Signed on days’ notice to take on Dan Argueta in January, Aguirre looked unready for the UFC level, which is not necessarily his fault. Aguirre’s debut came less than two years into his pro career, and he was at a stage where he had yet to face opposition that would provide much pushback. Even in a one-sided loss to Argueta, Aguirre did show himself to be a tough out who kept fighting through adversity to the final bell; and given that his regional film showed him to be a fairly solid wrestler and grappler, this should be a much more forgiving matchup. While it would not be a shock to see Aguirre succeed in turning a lot of this fight into a grind, Talbott seems poised to keep up his trend of making every moment of possible offense count. The pick is Talbott via decision.

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Allen vs. Craig
Morales vs. Matthews
Hooper vs. Leavitt
Talbott vs. Aguirre
Ribas vs. Pinheiro
Medic vs. Orolbai
The Prelims