RENO — 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, Talbott says, everything else drops away. The referee disappears. The fans disappear. Life becomes simple.

At 26, 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 more than 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;

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