Payton Talbott says he was in talks to fight Sean O'Malley at the White House

O'Malley's team told Ariel Helwani the talks were not true. Talbott says he understands why O'Malley fought Aiemann Zahabi instead, and that it would have been a much different fight with him in there.

Payton Talbott says he was in talks to fight Sean O'Malley on the UFC's White House card in June, though O'Malley's team told Ariel Helwani that was not true.

"Oh yeah, I mean that was in talks," Talbott said on The Ariel Helwani Show. "I just hear what I hear through my managers and everything." Helwani replied: "O'Malley's team says not true... They told me not true."

"I heard that our names were in talks for the White House card. But if I'm him, I honestly get it," Talbott said. "I wouldn't want to fight me over Zahabi, considering our rankings. And, yeah, I think it would have probably been a much different fight that night if I was in there instead of Zahabi, win or lose."

O'Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi in the second round of their bantamweight fight at UFC Freedom 250, on the South Lawn of the White House.

"But he wasn't the only one," Talbott said. "I was in talks with Cory. I was in talks with Figueiredo at multiple different points throughout the year. He just has the biggest name, so I think that blew up."

Asked whether he would have fought at the White House, he said: "Yeah, I would have loved to... Regardless of all the political b******* going on, it's like my job is fighting... That's one of the biggest stages of the year... Why would I not?"

When Helwani said some fighters would turn it down, Talbott said: "Sometimes I'm just like, f*** those people... You're just not allowed to have fun in life. You're just taking the fun out of life."

Helwani then said: "Too many of us have been infected by the woke mind virus. You know about this?" Talbott replied: "I've heard about it... I don't even know if it's like woke mind. I just think that too many people... just take things like way too seriously... You can take yourself energetically out of things and still just get enjoyment from them."

Talbott flies to Utah on Tuesday. "Normally, I don't get that excited for fights, but I feel like it's been so long and I feel like I've like refined myself so much that I am actually excited to see what I'm capable of," he said. He fights Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

READ NEXTPayton Talbott says he is nearing his prime but 'I don't have a name' before Figueiredo fightRead the next story →

Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing

Add Combat Sports UK as a preferred source on Google