On a baking-hot night in Las Vegas at the end of June, Payton Talbott stood in a chain link cage across from a man he needed to hurt. He dropped his arms loose to his sides and shook them out. His mouth hung slightly open, eyes flat and expressionless. His opponent stared back.
In the cage, Mr. Talbott says, everything else drops away. The referee disappears. The fans disappear. Life becomes simple.
At 26, Mr. Talbott is one of the fastest rising stars in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest organization for the sport of mixed martial arts in the world. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs in at 136 pounds and has over 70 inches of reach on his punches, which he deploys with a creative, flashy style that has captivated fans.
He also dresses, on occasion, in mesh crop tops; appears in videos pole-dancing in knee-high boots; and records experimental audiovisual projects with an eclectic list of collaborators, including the electronica artist Arca, who is transgender, and the mercurial singer Frank Ocean.
Mr. Talbott knows that he is an anomaly in his chosen discipline. So, too, does the U.F.C.’s fan base, members of which have speculated widely on his masculinity, sexuality and fighting ability, filling comment sections with insults, jibes and occasional support.
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