Payton Talbott’s torso tattoos rely on two stark shapes: a solid black circle below his chest and a larger horned mask along his left ribs. The circle is spare; the mask uses small gaps of bare skin to define its face. Talbott has also explained the circles he wears on his front and back, giving that design a clearer story than its unusual appearance alone.
The black circle below his chest
The front circle sits on his upper abdomen, below the sternum and above the navel. It’s filled with dark ink, without lettering, a border or a scene inside. The close-up makes the placement clear, with open skin between the circle and the larger mask on his left side.
A wider photo after his November 2023 fight with Nick Aguirre shows the same shape against his chest and shoulders. The edge stays easy to pick out because there’s bare skin around it. The wider frame also gives a better sense of its actual size than a tight crop.
The Hannya mask tattoo on his left ribs
The Hannya-style mask covers a larger area along Talbott’s left ribs. In a fight photo with Cameron Saaiman, Talbott is on the right in black shorts, lifting a knee as the mask faces the camera. Pointed horns rise above a broad lower face. Thin gaps of skin separate the eyes, nose, cheeks and teeth within the dark silhouette.
Those open spaces carry much of the expression, while the curved placement means the mask looks different from a straight-on view. Tattoo reports identify it as a Hannya mask, but Talbott hasn’t given a personal reason for this piece. Its meaning shouldn’t be inferred from the expression alone. The clean strip of skin between the mask and circle keeps the two dark designs distinct.
What Talbott has said about the circles
In a January 2025 Yahoo Sports interview, Talbott called the circles on his front and back “holes.” He spoke about circles having no beginning or end and connected them with the ouroboros and the universe. That’s his explanation for the design.
Some online discussion compares the circles with imagery in Bleach. The resemblance can be noted, but it doesn’t replace what Talbott said. The shape can make an impression on its own, while its personal meaning comes from the person wearing it.
Life inside the preparation room
A UFC 303 preparation-room photo shows Talbott getting his hands wrapped in a black UFC jacket and headphones. His torso is covered and one wrapped hand is raised toward the camera, so the frame is about the pre-fight routine rather than the tattoos. In the weigh-in portrait, he makes a heart shape with his hands while keeping his face visible. His changing hairstyle and septum ring also stand out in the preparation-room image.
Career context: skating with Tony Hawk
When Talbott met Tony Hawk in June 2024, they stood beside their boards at a ramp. Talbott wore a black hoodie and ripped jeans; Hawk stood to the left holding his skateboard. The second photo catches Talbott in the air in a white shirt as the board moves beneath him and Hawk watches.
Both skating photos keep Talbott’s torso covered. They show a different side of his life and make a clear contrast with the fight and studio images used to examine the ink.
Why the dark shapes hold up in photographs
The black circle reads as one solid shape from a distance. The mask takes longer to study, but its horns and broad outline remain visible before the finer openings come into view. Both designs have open skin around them, which keeps them separate on the torso.
For another approach to extensive fighter coverage, see Alessio Sakara’s tattoos. Talbott’s photographed torso uses fewer, darker shapes with more space around them. The UFC 303 interview below follows his June 2024 win over Yanis Ghemmouri, returning the still images to a fight-night setting.