Payton Talbott Blitzes Deiveson Figueiredo in Two Minutes, Calls Out Sean O'Malley

Payton Talbott just made another former champion look ordinary. The surging bantamweight contender destroyed Deiveson Figueiredo with a first-round TKO at 2:09 of the opening frame in the UFC 332 co-main event at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

Talbott wasted no time. After a brief exchange of low kicks, he landed a perfect straight right that floored Figueiredo. The former two-time flyweight champion survived the initial knockdown but was never the same. Talbott pounced, cornering the Brazilian against the fence and unloading a barrage of punches that left referee Jason Herzog no choice but to wave it off.

It was a statement performance. Figueiredo (25-8-1) had never been stopped in his UFC career before Saturday night, and Talbott (12-1) ended that streak in emphatic fashion. This is his second consecutive destruction of a former UFC champion, and the 28-year-old is making it clear he belongs with the elite at 135 pounds.

Talbott grabbed the microphone immediately after the stoppage and aimed it at Sean O'Malley. "Sean O'Malley, you can't run forever," Talbott said. "Give the people what they want." The callout landed, though O'Malley has already dismissed the idea of fighting Talbott in recent days.

With wins over two former champions in back-to-back outings, Talbott has made himself impossible to ignore. Whether the matchmakers pair him with O'Malley or another top-five bantamweight, the kid from California is knocking on the door of a title shot.