UFC Monthly Report | June 2024

Every time he steps into the Octagon, Talbott impresses more and more.

Paired off with Yanis Ghemmouri in the opening bout of the UFC 303 televised prelims, the Dana White’s Contender Series grad needed just 19 seconds to dispatch his French foe, sending him crashing to the canvas with a clean right hand before sealing the deal with a few additional follow-up shots.

UFC 303: Main Card Results | Prelim Results | Official Scorecards

One of the most difficult things to do in this sport is show out when you are a highly regarded prospect in a matchup where there is every expectation that you’re going to win handily, and yet Talbott managed to do just that on Saturday. Entering as the biggest favorite on the fight card, the 25-year-old from Reno made it clear that he’s ready to advance to the next level of competition in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks by blowing through Ghemmouri with swiftness and precision.

Talbott, who punched his ticket to the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Reyes Cortez on Season 7 of the annual talent search series last August, has quickly racked up three stoppage wins to begin his time on the big stage. He made his first major splash of the year in March by running through South African prospect Cameron Saaiman and took things up another level over the weekend in Las Vegas, ensuring that anyone that hadn’t yet purchased a ticket on the bandwagon would be getting in line and looking for a seat of their own.

What has always stood out the most (at least to me) about Talbott’s game is his poise in the Octagon, as he’s mellow and measured at all times. He moves with confidence and trusts his weapons and, thus far, he’s deployed them extremely well, enjoying nothing but success.

The road is sure to get tougher now that he’s likely to get a step up in competition in the second half of the year, but there is plenty of reason to believe that Talbott is someone that could develop into a real person of interest in the 135-pound weight class over the next couple years. He has an outstanding frame and tremendous reach for the division — he’s five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach — and appears to be taking his position as a rising star in stride.

The future is extremely bright for the unbeaten standout who showed out at UFC 303.

Honorable Mentions: Carlos Prates, Brady Hiestand, Felipe Lima, Jean Silva

Submission of the Month: Felipe Lima taps Muhammad Naimov (UFC Saudi Arabia)

There is no exact method to determining which performance is going to earn each award from month-to-month in this series; I have a few loose guidelines that I tend to keep in mind, and championship fights tend to carry a little more weight than non-title matchups.

But sometimes, you just have to go with the one that provided the coolest overall story, and this month, that was Lima’s submission win over Naimov in Saudi Arabia.

Dana White's UFC 303 Post-Fight Presser

From an execution standpoint, Lima’s fight-ending rear-naked choke was excellent — he knew he was down on the scorecards and needed a finish in order to secure the victory, took the fight to Naimov, and had him wrapped up and tapping just 75 seconds into the final frame. He did exactly what he needed to do and did it quickly, impressing everyone in the process.

What raises the finish to the point of earning monthly honors is the “full circle” moment his win produced.

One year earlier, Naimov was the one turning up on short notice and fighting up a division, facing off with Jamie Mullarkey. Midway through the second round, the 29-year-old from Tajikistan dropped the Australian veteran to register a massive upset victory to kick off his UFC tenure.

A year later, he’s the one standing opposite the late replacement, with the former Oktagon MMA bantamweight champ Lima venturing up a division in order to make his first appearance inside the Octagon.

And a minute and change into the third round, Lima did to Naimov what Naimov did to Mullarkey, completing the circle and establishing himself as one to watch going forward, regardless of whether he competes at bantamweight or featherweight.

Honorable Mentions: Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov, Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk, Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier, Hiestand vs. Garrett Armfield

Knockout of the Month: Alex Pereira stops Jiri Prochazka (UFC 303)

There was no other choice here.

After dropping Prochazka with a sharp left hook at the horn to close out the first round of their light heavyweight championship rematch on Saturday, Pereira sauntered to the center of the Octagon and floored the former champion with a perfectly timed, completely non-telegraphed switch kick.

MORE UFC 303: Diego Lopes Interview | Chiasson Interview | Poatan Interview 

This was “Poatan” at his finest and another staggering reminder of how uncanny what the Brazilian has done in just nine fights with less than three years on the UFC roster.

The things that continue to stand out to me about Pereira’s game the more I watch him are his range management and the technical precision of his attacks, and both were illustrated through his second bout with Prochazka.

Not only did he avoid a great deal of the attacks coming his way, but he connected at an incredible clip himself, economically doling out punishment while taking very little damage in return. As for the kick, it was a chef’s kiss — the perfect offering in the perfect moment, landing flush and opening up the finishing window for the light heavyweight division’s ruler.

And here’s the scary thing: Pereira looks and feels like he’s continuing to make legitimate, meaningful gains as a fighter, despite the fact that he turns 37 in a couple days.

He’s already one of the most devastating talents in the sport and on his way to earning a place in the pantheon of all-time greats, and if he keeps making improvements, the performances from the Brazilian standout could continue to get even better.

Honorable Mentions: Prates vs. Charles Radtke, Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus, Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby, Volkan Oezdemir vs. Johnny Walker, Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov, Talbott vs. Yanis Ghemmouri, Silva vs. Charles Jourdain, Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Fight of the Month: Diego Lopes vs. Dan Ige (UFC 303)

This fight had absolutely no reason to be as entertaining and competitive as it was under the circumstances, and I say that with an abundance of love and respect for both men.

For those that missed the setup, here’s how things played out:

How To Watch This Season Of The Ultimate Fighter

Lopes and Brian Ortega were officially added to the card in the co-main event when it was confirmed that the scheduled headliner between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler wouldn’t be happening.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Lopes was contacted, and he agreed to face Ortega at 155 pounds, not 145 pounds as originally planned, resulting in the Brazilian featherweight needing to gain weight ahead of weighing in.

Then, on fight day, Ortega turned up with a massive fever that resulted in his being removed from the bout and replaced by Ige, a Las Vegas resident who drove to T-Mobile Arena, weighed in, and stepped into the Octagon to compete, all in the span of about four hours on Saturday.

And then Lopes and Ige delivered a captivating three-round fight, with the surging Lopes earning a unanimous decision win and Ige garnering a ton of respect for not only turning up day-of and getting down, but also for winning the final round of the three-round battle just a couple hours after he was sitting on the couch at home.

All kinds of people talk about “anyone, anywhere, any time,” but on Saturday night at UFC 303, Lopes and Ige showed they are 100 percent about that life, earning a ton of praise and respect along the way.

Honorable Mentions: Makhachev vs. Poirier, Hiestand vs. Armfield, Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby, Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon, Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson,