It’s a classic “prospect versus veteran” pairing here as unbeaten up-and-comer Payton Talbott faces off with experienced Brazilian Raoni Barcelos.
Talbott followed up his debut win in November 2023 with a pair of finishes in 2024, first stopping Cameron Saaiman in the second round before icing Yanis Ghemmouri in 19 seconds at UFC 303. Barcelos, who has filled this role opposite Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips in the recent past, earned a third-round stoppage win over Cristian Quinonez in his lone appearance of 2024, moving to 18-5 overall with the victory.
Jailton Almeida vs Serghei Spivac
Top 10 heavyweights Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac look to start the year by taking a big step forward when they share the Octagon on Saturday’s televised prelims.
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After collecting wins in each of his first six UFC starts, Almeida suffered his first setback last year, falling to Curtis Blaydes before rebounding with a first-round submission win over Alexandr Romanov. In his lone appearance of the year, Spivac avenged a prior loss to Marcin Tybura, submitting the Polish veteran in under two minutes to move to 7-2 over his last nine outings.
Zachary Reese vs Azamat Bekoev
Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad Zachary Reese gets a late shift in opponents on Saturday, welcoming Azamat Bekoev to the UFC.
Reese bounced back from a loss in his promotional debut at the tail end of 2023 with a pair of victories last year, making quick work of Julian Marquez before going the distance with Jose Medina in August. Bekoev arrives in the UFC on a six-fight winning streak overall, having won the interim LFA middleweight title, unified the belts, and then successfully defended his title over his last three fights.