UFC 311 Prelims: Raoni Barcelos Manhandles Undefeated Payton Talbott
Raoni
Barcelos reminded any and all upstarts in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division that
experience still matters.
The onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil titleholder cruised to a surprisingly one-sided unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Payton Talbott in the featured UFC 311 prelim on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Barcelos (19-5, 8-4 UFC) carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
Talbott (9-1, 3-1 UFC) was undone by shoddy takedown defense.
Barcelos grounded him repeatedly, floated from one dominant
position to the next and even achieved full mount on multiple
occasions. Any momentum Talbott tried to build in standup exchanges
was quickly snuffed out by the Brazilian. Barcelos tied a bow on
his performance late in the third round, where he advanced to the
back, flattened out the Reno Academy of Combat representative an
uncorked punches from both hands.
Meanwhile, former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Azamat Bekoev filled in for Sedriques Dumas on late notice, made a sensational Octagon debut and disposed of Zachary Reese with punches in the first round of their middleweight tiff. Reese (8-2, 2-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:04 into Round 1.
Bekoev (19-3, 1-0 UFC) completed a takedown inside the first minute, lulled the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate into a false sense of security and dropped the proverbial hammer. A series of high-impact punches from the American Top Team product separated Reese from his senses and prompted the stoppage.
The 29-year-old Bekoev now finds himself on a seven-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, Bogdan Guskov put away promotional newcomer Billy Elekana with a guillotine choke in the second round of their light heavyweight encounter. A short-notice replacement for Johnny Walker, Elekana (7-2, 0-1 UFC) conceded defeat 3:33 into Round 2.
Guskov (17-3, 3-1 UFC) had to overcome a shaky start. Elekana surprised him with a takedown, advanced to the back, strengthened his position with a body triangle and threatened the neck between intermittent bursts of ground-and-pound. Guskov escaped out the backdoor near the end of the first round, moved behind the Uprising MMA export and nearly finished it with a rear-naked choke. Only the horn saved Elekana. Guskov turned up the heat in the middle stanza, pinned his counterpart to the fence and unleashed his hands, first to the head and then to the body. Elekana retreated to a squatting position, left his neck exposed and bowed to the guillotine without offering much resistance.
It was Guskov’s first submission win in more than six years.
Further down the undercard, American Top Team’s Grant Dawson rode repeated takedowns and a suffocating top game to a one-sided unanimous decision over Diego Ferreira in their three-round lightweight scrap. All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Dawson (23-2-1, 11-1-1 UFC).
Ferreira (19-6, 10-6 UFC) had no answers for the tactics his opponent brought to bear. Dawson kept the Fortis MMA rep honest with punches and kicks, then swooped into range for takedowns. Once on top, he racked up points with steady ground-and-pound and cut off potential avenues of escape for Ferreira. Dawson closed it out with a strong third round, where he dropped the ex-Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder to a knee with a right hand at close range, secured another takedown and progressed to the back. He fished for a rear-naked choke, but neither Ferreira nor the clock would cooperate with his efforts.
Dawson, 30, has won three fights in a row since his October 2023 knockout loss to Bobby Green.
Finally, former Samurai Fight House champion Ailin Perez likely punched her ticket to the Top 10 at 135 pounds, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over Karol Rosa in their three-round women’s bantamweight pairing. Scores were 29-28, 29-29 and 30-27—all for Perez (12-2, 5-1 UFC).
Rosa (18-7, 7-4 UFC) never found an offensive rhythm. Perez executed takedowns in the first and second rounds, paired them with positional control and incorporated some ground-and-pound to avoid restarts. Rosa did her best work in Round 3, where she upped her aggression and peppered the Argentinian upstart with powerful kicks to the legs and sweeping left hooks to the head. However, the finish she needed failed to materialize.
The 30-year-old Perez has rattled off five straight victories.
In other action, Muin Gafurov (20-6, 2-2 UFC) outstruck Rinya Nakamura (9-1, 3-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight tilt, as he swept the scorecards with 30-27 nods across the board; Tagir Ulanbekov (16-2, 5-1 UFC) took a unanimous verdict—30-27, 30-27, 29-28—from Clayton Carpenter (8-1, 2-1) in their three-round lightweight affair; and Bernardo Sopai (12-3, 1-1 UFC) outlasted Ricky Turcios (12-5, 2-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight clash, earning 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores from the cageside judiciary.
The onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil titleholder cruised to a surprisingly one-sided unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Payton Talbott in the featured UFC 311 prelim on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Barcelos (19-5, 8-4 UFC) carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
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Meanwhile, former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Azamat Bekoev filled in for Sedriques Dumas on late notice, made a sensational Octagon debut and disposed of Zachary Reese with punches in the first round of their middleweight tiff. Reese (8-2, 2-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:04 into Round 1.
Related » UFC 311 Round-by-Round Scoring
Bekoev (19-3, 1-0 UFC) completed a takedown inside the first minute, lulled the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate into a false sense of security and dropped the proverbial hammer. A series of high-impact punches from the American Top Team product separated Reese from his senses and prompted the stoppage.
The 29-year-old Bekoev now finds himself on a seven-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, Bogdan Guskov put away promotional newcomer Billy Elekana with a guillotine choke in the second round of their light heavyweight encounter. A short-notice replacement for Johnny Walker, Elekana (7-2, 0-1 UFC) conceded defeat 3:33 into Round 2.
Guskov (17-3, 3-1 UFC) had to overcome a shaky start. Elekana surprised him with a takedown, advanced to the back, strengthened his position with a body triangle and threatened the neck between intermittent bursts of ground-and-pound. Guskov escaped out the backdoor near the end of the first round, moved behind the Uprising MMA export and nearly finished it with a rear-naked choke. Only the horn saved Elekana. Guskov turned up the heat in the middle stanza, pinned his counterpart to the fence and unleashed his hands, first to the head and then to the body. Elekana retreated to a squatting position, left his neck exposed and bowed to the guillotine without offering much resistance.
It was Guskov’s first submission win in more than six years.
Further down the undercard, American Top Team’s Grant Dawson rode repeated takedowns and a suffocating top game to a one-sided unanimous decision over Diego Ferreira in their three-round lightweight scrap. All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Dawson (23-2-1, 11-1-1 UFC).
Ferreira (19-6, 10-6 UFC) had no answers for the tactics his opponent brought to bear. Dawson kept the Fortis MMA rep honest with punches and kicks, then swooped into range for takedowns. Once on top, he racked up points with steady ground-and-pound and cut off potential avenues of escape for Ferreira. Dawson closed it out with a strong third round, where he dropped the ex-Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder to a knee with a right hand at close range, secured another takedown and progressed to the back. He fished for a rear-naked choke, but neither Ferreira nor the clock would cooperate with his efforts.
Dawson, 30, has won three fights in a row since his October 2023 knockout loss to Bobby Green.
Finally, former Samurai Fight House champion Ailin Perez likely punched her ticket to the Top 10 at 135 pounds, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over Karol Rosa in their three-round women’s bantamweight pairing. Scores were 29-28, 29-29 and 30-27—all for Perez (12-2, 5-1 UFC).
Rosa (18-7, 7-4 UFC) never found an offensive rhythm. Perez executed takedowns in the first and second rounds, paired them with positional control and incorporated some ground-and-pound to avoid restarts. Rosa did her best work in Round 3, where she upped her aggression and peppered the Argentinian upstart with powerful kicks to the legs and sweeping left hooks to the head. However, the finish she needed failed to materialize.
The 30-year-old Perez has rattled off five straight victories.
In other action, Muin Gafurov (20-6, 2-2 UFC) outstruck Rinya Nakamura (9-1, 3-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight tilt, as he swept the scorecards with 30-27 nods across the board; Tagir Ulanbekov (16-2, 5-1 UFC) took a unanimous verdict—30-27, 30-27, 29-28—from Clayton Carpenter (8-1, 2-1) in their three-round lightweight affair; and Bernardo Sopai (12-3, 1-1 UFC) outlasted Ricky Turcios (12-5, 2-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight clash, earning 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores from the cageside judiciary.
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