UFC Vegas 89: Saaiman v Talbott Preview and Prediction

South African prodigy Cameron Saaiman seeks to return to his winning ways when he takes on the undefeated Payton Talbott in a bantamweight battle at UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

Headlining the event at the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas is a pivotal flyweight fight between Amanda Ribas and former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

MAIN CARD (from 4 AM Sunday SA time)

Cameron Saaiman (2.24) v Payton Talbott (1.67) (Bantamweight)

It’s a bout of highly touted prospects, both of whom have received high praise from Dana White.

The UFC president hailed Saaiman as “the future” after he knocked Josh Wang-Kim out cold on the Contender Series back in August 2022 to become the then-youngest fighter ever signed by the promotion at 21.

Talbott also punched his ticket to the UFC via the Contender Series, impressing White, who labelled him “an absolute predator” following his decision win over Reyes Cortez last August.

South Africa’s Saaiman finds himself in an unfamiliar situation going into this fight as he’s coming off the first loss of his career after being outpointed by Christian Rodriguez last October.

“CeeRod” had missed weight and used his size advantage to seal a decision victory, despite Saaiman displaying stellar scrambling ability to reserve positions and a good chin, which he was commended for by UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping on commentary.

That loss, which came at the same venue he’s returning to this weekend, snapped Saaiman’s unbeaten run of nine victories, which included three wins in the UFC. Thus, this bout presents the prodigious 23-year-old with not just a physical challenge but a mental one as well.

Having followed Saaiman’s career from the start, I can attest that the former EFC bantamweight champion is bulletproof on the mental side of mixed martial arts.

He has a quiet confidence based on the meticulous work he does with his team at CIT in Pretoria – where he’s guided by head coach Morne Visser and trains with his mentor, UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis – and is composed well beyond his years.

With his record now at 9-1 with seven finishes (six knockouts and one submission), he enters as the underdog and looks to do unto Talbott what Rodriguez did to him and bounce him from the ranks of the unbeaten.

The American is 7-0 with six finishes and picked up his first win by submission in what was his UFC debut against Nick Aguirre last November. Given both men’s flair for finishes, expect an action-packed fire-fight.

Fighting in his backyard, Talbott has a wrestling background, which he smartly leaned on last time out to sync in a fight-finishing rear-naked choke in the third round. However, given Saaiman’s good grappling skills, this should mainly be a stand-up battle.

In that regard, Saaiman has more power and is more sophisticated. “MSP” is fast and tricky to figure out on the feet and will have to use his speed to successfully close the distance as his 25-year-old foe has a three-and-a-half-inch reach advantage.

A solid striker, Talbott is all about volume and broke the Contender Series bantamweight significant strikes record in his aforementioned rout of Cortez. He’s known to take risks, too, which could work against him.

At the end of the day, it’s a tough fight but Saaiman’s poise and precision should be the difference and see him bounce back in a back-and-forth barnburner.

Prediction: Saaiman by decision.

Best Bet: Saaiman at 2.24.

Alternative Bet: Saaiman by decision at 3.00.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.