Talbott Reveals Why O'Malley Fight Didn't Happen

Payton Talbott was supposed to fight Sean O'Malley at the White House before the UFC pulled the plug.

Talbott told BJPENN.com that he asked for the O'Malley matchup on the Trump administration card, only to be told the former bantamweight champion wasn't available. Days later the promotion announced O'Malley against Aiemann Zahabi — a fight O'Malley won by knockout.

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Talbott Questions Series Of Opponent Injuries

"I was supposed to fight Sean, then I was supposed to fight him, I was supposed to fight her, all kinds of names," Talbott said. "Supposedly when I was supposed to fight them, they all had a broken foot. I was like, 'Dude, what's up with everybody's feet?' It must be something in the water. They were like, 'Oh, so and so broke his foot. He really wants to fight you, but his foot is broken.' Then it's funny, because the same names that said their feet were broken are suddenly getting booked. It could be UFC, it could be people scared. I wonder which?"

Whether the promotion shelved the matchup to save it for a title eliminator or No. 1 contender bout remains unclear. Talbott meets former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the co-main event of UFC 332 on Saturday in Utah. A win over Figueiredo would put the rising bantamweight in the title conversation.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Dana White's Contender Series, Season 10, Week 8 on Ticketmaster →

Talbott enters on a two-fight streak after a decision win over Henry Cejudo in his last outing.

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• BJPenn — Payton Talbott reveals why rumored Sean O’Malley fight at White House didn’t happen