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Brandon Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, Royval has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. As of February 27, 2024, he is #1 in the UFC flyweight rankings.[4]

Background

Born and raised in Denver, Brandon was already training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai at the age of 15.[5] Royval has an older brother, Darian.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Royval took his first amateur bout at the age of 18, racking up a 5–0 record.[5] Starting his professional career in 2012, Royval compiled an 8–3 record fighting mostly for Legacy Fighting Alliance, eventually culminating in a shot for the interim LFA Flyweight Championship against Casey Kenney, which he lost by unanimous decision.[6]

Brandon Royval next faced UFC vet, Joby Sanchez at LFA 65 on May 3, 2019, winning the bout via submission due to an armbar in the first round.[7]

Royval was going to face Jared Scoggins for the vacant LFA flyweight title on November 22, 2019 until Scoggins pulled out of the fight. Nate Williams stepped up as a replacement and Royval won the LFA Flyweight title via first round armbar.[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Brandon made his UFC debut on May 30, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns against Tim Elliott.[9] He won the fight via submission in the second round.[10] This fight earned Royval a Fight of the Night award.[11]

Royval faced Kai Kara-France on September 27, 2020 at UFC 253.[12] After both fighters being knocked down in the first round, Royval won the fight via submission in the second round.[13] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[14]

Royval was a replacement for Alex Perez against Brandon Moreno on November 21, 2020 at UFC 255.[15] He lost the fight via technical knockout on round one.[16]

Royval faced Alexandre Pantoja on August 21, 2021 UFC on ESPN 29.[17] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round two.[18]

Royval faced Rogério Bontorin on January 15, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 32.[19] He won the fight via split decision.[20]

Royval faced Matt Schnell on May 7, 2022 at UFC 274.[21] He won the back-and-forth fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.[22] The fight also won both men the Fight of the Night bonus award.[23]

Royval was scheduled to face Askar Askarov on October 15, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 212.[24] However the bout was cancelled the day before the event due to weight management issues.[25]

Royval was set to face Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 216 on December 17, 2022.[26] However, Royval pulled out of the bout in late November due to a broken wrist.[27]

Royval faced Matheus Nicolau on April 15, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 44.[28] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[29] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[30]

Royval had a rematch with Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship title on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296.[31] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[32]

Royval faced Brandon Moreno in a rematch, replacing Amir Albazi, at UFC Fight Night 237 on February 24, 2024.[33] He won the fight via split decision.[34]

Personal life

Royval grew up in a Mexican family.[35] After the win against Kai Kara-France, Royval left his full-time job in the juvenile justice system.[8] He also works as the jiu-jitsu instructor at Factory X.[36]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
23 matches 16 wins 7 losses
By knockout 4 1
By submission 9 1
By decision 3 5
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 16–7 Brandon Moreno Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 February 24, 2024 5 5:00 Mexico City, Mexico
Loss 15–7 Alexandre Pantoja Decision (unanimous) UFC 296 December 16, 2023 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Win 15–6 Matheus Nicolau KO (knee and elbows) UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen April 15, 2023 1 2:09 Kansas City, Missouri, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 14–6 Matt Schnell Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 274 May 7, 2022 1 2:14 Phoenix, Arizona, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 13–6 Rogério Bontorin Decision (split) UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze January 15, 2022 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 12–6 Alexandre Pantoja Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum August 21, 2021 2 1:46 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 12–5 Brandon Moreno TKO (punches) UFC 255 November 21, 2020 1 4:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 12–4 Kai Kara-France Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 253 September 27, 2020 2 0:48 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Fight of the Night.
Win 11–4 Tim Elliott Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns May 30, 2020 2 3:18 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 10–4 Nate Williams Submission (armbar) LFA 79 November 22, 2019 1 0:23 Broomfield, Colorado, United States Won the vacant LFA Flyweight Championship.
Win 9–4 Joby Sanchez Submission (armbar) LFA 65 May 3, 2019 1 3:17 Vail, Colorado, United States
Loss 8–4 Casey Kenney Decision (unanimous) LFA 53 November 9, 2018 5 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States For the interim LFA Flyweight Championship.
Win 8–3 Charles Johnson Decision (unanimous) LFA 48 September 7, 2018 3 5:00 Kearney, Nebraska, United States
Win 7–3 Jerome Rivera TKO (arm injury) LFA 39 May 4, 2018 1 0:40 Vail, Colorado, United States
Win 6–3 Demetrius Wilson Submission (triangle choke) LFA 22 September 8, 2017 2 2:00 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Loss 5–3 Nick Urso Decision (split) LFA 10 April 21, 2017 3 5:00 Pueblo, Colorado, United States
Win 5–2 Rakan Adwan Submission (armbar) LFA 5 February 24, 2017 1 1:54 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win 4–2 Angel Torres Submission (triangle choke) SCL 53 October 15, 2016 1 0:34 Denver, Colorado, United States Flyweight debut.
Loss 3–2 Ricky Palacios Decision (unanimous) Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 5 May 26, 2016 3 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 3–1 Danny Mainus KO (knee) WSOF 29 March 12, 2016 1 2:48 Greeley, Colorado, United States
Win 2–1 Joey Welch TKO (punches) SCL: Mile High Mayhem August 23, 2014 1 0:51 Denver, Colorado, United States
Loss 1–1 Ben VomBaur Decision (unanimous) Kick Down MMA 104: BOOM October 19, 2012 3 5:00 Denver, Colorado, United States Bantamweight debut.
Win 1–0 Sammy Rind TKO (elbows) Kick Down MMA 102: Rebels August 17, 2012 1 1:45 Denver, Colorado, United States Catchweight (140 lb) bout.

[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  2. ^ a b "Brandon Royval | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  3. ^ Jim Norton; Matt Serra (May 3, 2022). "Randy Brown, Brandon Royval, and UFC Fight Night: Font vs Vera recap" (Podcast).
  4. ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  5. ^ a b c Jake Howard (14 October 2016). "Brandon "Raw Dog" Royval makes flyweight". mymetmedia.com.
  6. ^ Bitter, Shawn (2019-03-28). "Welcome to the UFC: Casey Kenney". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  7. ^ John Morgan (May 3, 2019). "LFA 65 results: Brandon Royval taps out UFC vet Joby Sanchez". mmajunkie.com.
  8. ^ a b c Thomas Gerbasi (2020-11-19). "Brandon Royval Knows He Belongs". UFC.com.
  9. ^ Farah Hannoun (2020-05-21). "UFC adds Tim Elliott vs. Brandon Royval to May 30 lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  10. ^ Bitter, Shawn (2020-05-30). "UFC Vegas Results: Brandon Royval Submits Tim Elliott in Octagon Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  11. ^ a b Haynes, Stephie (2020-05-31). "UFC Las Vegas bonuses: Dern's record-setting kneebar wins POTN". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  12. ^ Marcel Dorff (2020-07-27). "UFC Flyweightclash tussen Kai Kara-France en Brandon Royval op 26 september" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  13. ^ Fuentes, Jon (2020-09-26). "UFC 253 Results: Brandon Royval Makes Kai Kara-France Tap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  14. ^ a b Alexander K. Lee (2020-09-27). "UFC 253 bonuses: Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz cash in with championship performances". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  15. ^ Mike Bohn (2020-10-02). "Brandon Royval replaces Alex Perez, meets Brandon Moreno at UFC 255". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  16. ^ Evanoff, Josh (2020-11-21). "UFC 255 Results: Brandon Moreno Finishes Injured Brandon Royval". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  17. ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-05-11). "Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 21 augustus". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  18. ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-08-21). "UFC Vegas 34 Results: Alexandre Pantoja Subs Game Brandon Royval". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  19. ^ Guilherme Cruz and Mike Heck (2021-10-01). "Rogerio Bontorin returns vs. Brandon Royval at Jan. 15 UFC event". MMAFighting. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  20. ^ Gibbons, Justin (2022-01-15). "UFC Vegas 46: Brandon Royval Grinds Out Split Decision Against Bontorin". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  21. ^ Martin, Damon (2022-02-24). "Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell added to UFC 274". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  22. ^ Behunin, Alex (2022-05-07). "UFC 274: Brandon Royval Taps Matt Schnell In A Wild Two Minute Scrap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  23. ^ a b Anderson, Jay (2022-05-08). "UFC 274: Chandler, Fialho Earn Performance of the Night Bonuses". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  24. ^ Jay Anderson (2022-08-03). "UFC: Brandon Royval vs. Askar Askarov set for October 15". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  25. ^ Fighting, MMA. "Brandon Royval vs. Askar Askarov called off for UFC Vegas 62". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  26. ^ Jay Anderson (2022-10-25). "Brandon Royval vs. Amir Albazi Set for UFC's December 17 Card". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  27. ^ King, Nolan (2022-11-23). "Brandon Royval announces he's out of UFC Fight Night 216 due to broken wrist". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  28. ^ Calhoun, Curtis (2023-02-09). "Brandon Royval vs. Matheus Nicolau Booked For UFC Kansas City, Twitter Reacts". Mma News | Ufc News, Results & Interviews. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  29. ^ Anderson, Jay (2023-04-15). "UFC Kansas City: Brandon Royval Floors Matheus Nicolau, Calls for Title Shot". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  30. ^ a b "UFC on ESPN 44 bonuses: Edson Barboza's spectacular knee knockout earns $50,000". MMA Junkie. 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  31. ^ Martin, Damon (2023-09-20). "Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval 2 set to headline UFC 296". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  32. ^ "UFC 296 full results: Leon Edwards dominates Colby Covington; Alexandre Pantoja retains title". Yahoo Sports. 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  33. ^ Steve Marrocco (2024-01-11). "UFC Mexico City gets new headliner after Amir Albazi forced off card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  34. ^ Anderson, Jay (2024-02-25). "UFC Mexico City: Brandon Royval Avenges Loss to Brandon Moreno". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  35. ^ Howard, Jake. "Brandon "Raw Dog" Royval makes flyweight". Met Media. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Professor Brandon Royval". factoryxmuaythai.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  37. ^ a b c d e UFC (2024-04-01). "UFC Flyweight - Fight Stats". ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  38. ^ Sherdog.com. "Brandon Royval". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.

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