Downtown Los Angeles became an unlikely crossroads of combat sports and celebrity culture this week, when UFC bantamweight contender Payton Talbott took to the decks as a DJ at a packed venue. According to footage captured, this was where Knox Jolie-Pitt, the 17-year-old son of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, stepped into the ring for a Muay Thai competition.
Talbott, who has been making serious waves in the UFC’s bantamweight division since earning his stripes as a champion on the IKF PMT circuit through the Reno Academy of Combat, spent Friday night spinning tracks for the crowd rather than throwing punches.
According to sources, the rising bantamweight is currently scheduled to compete against Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC 303, a card headlined by the highly anticipated showdown between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.
Meanwhile, it was Knox who commanded attention on the competition floor. The teenager, twin to Vivienne and younger brother to Shiloh, put his Muay Thai training on full display, squaring off against his opponent in front of an energized crowd.
Knox took some hits during the bout but remained composed throughout, landing his own strikes. For someone so young, he moved like a seasoned competitor, ducking, weaving, and delivering kicks and punches with the confidence of a veteran.
The Muay Thai appearance came just days after Knox was spotted alongside his mother and siblings, including Pax, 22, Maddox, 24, and Zahara, 21, who was celebrating her graduation at Spelman College. Brad Pitt was not present at the ceremony.
Shiloh now goes by Shiloh Nouvel Jolie after filing legal paperwork to remove her father’s surname when she turned 18 in the summer of 2024.
Maddox dropped the Pitt name from his professional credits earlier this year, appearing as Maddox Jolie in the production notes for the film Couture and at screenings of the movie Maria. In May 2024, Vivienne was credited as Vivienne Jolie on the playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders.
Pitt and Jolie were together for roughly a decade before marrying in 2014, then filing for divorce in 2016. Their lengthy legal battle concluded in late 2024, but the family dynamics remain unresolved.
A source close to Pitt has indicated that he considers his relationships with some of his children, particularly Pax and Maddox, to be deeply strained, while holding onto hope that others may eventually reconnect with him over time.
A source close to Jolie pushed back on that framing, saying, “Brad continues to play the vic tim. His fractured relationship with his children is a direct result of how he has treated them. He should stop blaming others. If he wants to rebuild a relationship with the kids, he should acknowledge his own actions and make amends.”
