After losing his first chance at the UFC flyweight belt in a unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja in December, Denver’s Brandon Royval rolled the dice to get himself back to another title fight.
Royval took on renowned Mexican fighter Brandon Moreno on Saturday in Mexico City, winning by split decision. Now, he wants another crack at Pantoja at UFC 301 on May 4 in the champion’s native Rio de Janeiro.
“I feel like I did everything to make that happen,” Royval said. “I just took out the No.1 contender on short notice in his home county. The odds were against me, but I bet on myself to put myself back in this moment. I knew I could beat Moreno. And I know I can beat Pantoja in his hometown. There’s nobody else but me in this race who deserves that shot.
“I’ll make it a thing. I’ll go to everybody’s house and take their stuff. I’ll go into enemy territory every time and prevail. I love it. At the end of the day in Mexico City, they could boo me all they want, but it was their guy who was trying to hold on for dear life while I was putting on a show.”
Royval was visibly emotional while walking into the arena on Saturday.
After recovering from a broken bone in his hand suffered in the December defeat to Pantoja, Royval accepted the fight against Montero in mid-January in place of Amir Albazi, who withdrew due to a neck injury. It was a rematch between the two fighters after Montero won by first-round TKO in 2020.
The Chatfield High School alum came in as a +240 betting underdog and said he took the fight “from a cynical place — it was me versus everybody.”
“I don’t know what happens if I lose that fight, but I knew that it was going to put me further away from my real dream,” Royval said. “To me, that was heartbreaking to think about. I was putting my dreams on the line.”
Royval won by a scorecard of 48-47, 46-49, 48-47, jumping him up to the No. 1 contender spot, while Moreno fell to No. 2.
Royval’s volume of punches and his cardio were differentiators in the decision, as Moreno appeared gassed over the final couple of rounds while Royval continued to increase his intensity.
The Factory X fighter ended with a 177-119 advantage in total strikes and a 97-48 advantage in significant strikes to the head. After Moreno appeared to edge Royval in the first round, the latter gained momentum throughout the fight, and by the final two rounds Royval had a clear advantage in strikes and endurance.
“I was pretty confused by Moreno’s strategy,” Royval said. “He was circling around a ton the first two rounds, and I didn’t know what his goal was. Now that I’m reflecting, I’m starting to piece it together, like, I wonder if his goal was to not get tired against me. The more he moved and circled, the less he’d have to do the hard stuff.
“Moreno is known for boxing and being the best boxer in our division, but I feel like I’m the best boxer in the division. So those last few rounds were a way to prove I have way better hands, and faster hands, and better combinations than he does.”
The 31-year-old won the fight despite injuring his left knee on a kick early in the first round. Royval believes it’s a torn MCL, but an MRI this week will determine the exact severity of the injury.
If it is a torn MCL, it wouldn’t require surgery, but Royval would likely need to rest for about a month to get fully healthy again. He vows he’ll be ready to fight Pantoja, who also beat him by submission in 2021, after coming off “the biggest win of my career.”
And if Royval gets another shot at Pantoja, he’ll again be on the doorstep of becoming the first Denver-born UFC champion.
“I just beat a former champion on a five-week notice,” Royval said. “Now, I have everything checked where (Pantoja) could beat me. My jiujitsu is on point, my wrestling defense is on point, I can out-strike him, I can definitely outpace him. I have every (box) checked. The way he beat me last time (with takedowns and grappling), I worked so hard this entire camp (to address that). No one will ever hold me down in that position again.”
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