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UFC Edmonton takes place Saturday, so it's time to break down the top fights, plus make DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
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Second straight main event win
Royval defeated Tatsuro Taira via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It's a second straight split-decision, upset main-event win for Royval. He got past Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in February and did the same to Taira here. Royval is a poor defensive wrestler. He allowed six takedowns in this fight for 12:13 worth of control time. That's the bad news. The good news is that he never stops working. Royval mixed in three takedowns of his own, in addition to sporting a 172-80 edge in total strikes landed. The number one criteria for judges when scoring a fight is damage, and if you go by that, Royval deserved to win this bout. In the end, the back-and-forth affair would go on to win both men $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. You wouldn't think Brandon is a legitimate contender at 125 pounds, but back-to-back wins over Taira and Moreno say otherwise, especially in a thin flyweight division.
It's a second straight split-decision, upset main-event win for Royval. He got past Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in February and did the same to Taira here. Royval is a poor defensive wrestler. He allowed six takedowns in this fight for 12:13 worth of control time. That's the bad news. The good news is that he never stops working. Royval mixed in three takedowns of his own, in addition to sporting a 172-80 edge in total strikes landed. The number one criteria for judges when scoring a fight is damage, and if you go by that, Royval deserved to win this bout. In the end, the back-and-forth affair would go on to win both men $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. You wouldn't think Brandon is a legitimate contender at 125 pounds, but back-to-back wins over Taira and Moreno say otherwise, especially in a thin flyweight division.
Undefeated prospect next
Royval is scheduled to compete against fellow flyweight Tatsuro Taira in a five-round fight at UFC Vegas 98 on Oct. 12, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Despite being the No. 1 contender to the UFC Flyweight Championship, Royval's last win was a split-decision victory, which appears not enough for a title shot. All that could explain why he is taking up another top contender for legitimization. It will be a risky main event Royval fights, considering Taira is undefeated across 16 fights, six of them in the UFC. Royval is no slouch though, as he has five-round experience and a win over a former flyweight champion in Brandon Moreno, even if it was via split decision.
Despite being the No. 1 contender to the UFC Flyweight Championship, Royval's last win was a split-decision victory, which appears not enough for a title shot. All that could explain why he is taking up another top contender for legitimization. It will be a risky main event Royval fights, considering Taira is undefeated across 16 fights, six of them in the UFC. Royval is no slouch though, as he has five-round experience and a win over a former flyweight champion in Brandon Moreno, even if it was via split decision.
Stuns Brandon Moreno in Mexico City
Royval defeated Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Mexico City.
ANALYSIS
Royval fought just two months ago, getting dominated by Alexandre Pantoja in a five-round unanimous decision loss in a title fight. He accepted this bout against Moreno on late notice after Amir Albazi was forced to withdraw, and he responded with the biggest win of his career. If there was ever a fight in which optics played a role in the outcome, this was it. Moreno was the better man for ten minutes, at which point Royval turned up the heat and never slowed down. Royval attempted an insane 556 total strikes compared to just 219 from his opponent. Moreno landed the harder blows throughout the course of the fight, but Royval was the far busier man, even if he wasn't connecting with huge shots. Whether or not you feel he deserves to win, the 31-year-old Colorado native deserves massive credit for this performance. The issue for Royval's title chances at this point is that we just saw him fight the champion, and he wasn't competitive. Perhaps the UFC will book a trilogy bout between these two given Moreno won the first one back in November 2020.
Royval fought just two months ago, getting dominated by Alexandre Pantoja in a five-round unanimous decision loss in a title fight. He accepted this bout against Moreno on late notice after Amir Albazi was forced to withdraw, and he responded with the biggest win of his career. If there was ever a fight in which optics played a role in the outcome, this was it. Moreno was the better man for ten minutes, at which point Royval turned up the heat and never slowed down. Royval attempted an insane 556 total strikes compared to just 219 from his opponent. Moreno landed the harder blows throughout the course of the fight, but Royval was the far busier man, even if he wasn't connecting with huge shots. Whether or not you feel he deserves to win, the 31-year-old Colorado native deserves massive credit for this performance. The issue for Royval's title chances at this point is that we just saw him fight the champion, and he wasn't competitive. Perhaps the UFC will book a trilogy bout between these two given Moreno won the first one back in November 2020.
Matchup with Moreno on tap
Royval is scheduled to face Brandon Moreno in a flyweight bout at the UFC's Feb. 24 event in Mexico City, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Royval will replace Amir Albazi (undisclosed) in the fight, returning to the octagon after losing to Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision Dec. 16. His upcoming opponent Brandon Moreno hasn't fought since he lost to Pantoja himself, falling via split decision in the UFC Flyweight Championship in July. Moreno struggled to stay off the mat down the stretch of that matchup, which is something Royval will look to exploit in February.
Royval will replace Amir Albazi (undisclosed) in the fight, returning to the octagon after losing to Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision Dec. 16. His upcoming opponent Brandon Moreno hasn't fought since he lost to Pantoja himself, falling via split decision in the UFC Flyweight Championship in July. Moreno struggled to stay off the mat down the stretch of that matchup, which is something Royval will look to exploit in February.
Can't defend takedown in title loss
Royval came up short in his quest for the UFC Flyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (45-50, 45-50, 46-49) at UFC 296 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Royval has nine career wins via submission, but his takedown defense is truly dreadful, and you aren't going to defeat the guys at the very top of the food chain if you spent the vast majority of a 25-minute fight on your back. Royval gave up three takedowns to Pantoja on six attempts when the two fought back in August 2021, and it was the same issue here, just on a more pronounced scale. Brandon tried to remain active from the bottom, which is a good thing, but Pantoja was bigger, stronger and more talented. Royval's best moments of the fight came early in Round 5 prior to, you guessed it, again being planted on the mat. Royval getting a title shot seemed like an odd thing in the first place considering he was just 3-2 in his past five bouts, but the company is quickly running out of options at 125 pounds. The odds are against the 31-year-old Colorado native again fighting for gold at any point during his UFC run.
Royval has nine career wins via submission, but his takedown defense is truly dreadful, and you aren't going to defeat the guys at the very top of the food chain if you spent the vast majority of a 25-minute fight on your back. Royval gave up three takedowns to Pantoja on six attempts when the two fought back in August 2021, and it was the same issue here, just on a more pronounced scale. Brandon tried to remain active from the bottom, which is a good thing, but Pantoja was bigger, stronger and more talented. Royval's best moments of the fight came early in Round 5 prior to, you guessed it, again being planted on the mat. Royval getting a title shot seemed like an odd thing in the first place considering he was just 3-2 in his past five bouts, but the company is quickly running out of options at 125 pounds. The odds are against the 31-year-old Colorado native again fighting for gold at any point during his UFC run.