The UFC Vegas 98 tournament was a night of thrilling fights, as Brandon Royval shared the cage with Tatsuro Taira.
The flyweight division was the main event of the night, and both fighters stepped into the cage with much enthusiasm. Royval came to the octagon with much energy in the first round and caused serious damage to Taira’s face. The Japanese fighter came in strong in round two and scored a takedown, remaining on top throughout the second round.
Round three and four went the same as the first two rounds, but by the fifth round, both opponents tried to knock their rival out. Taira landed a takedown after heavy shots, but Royval recovered quickly and almost scored submission before the round came to an end. The fight ended with a split decision win for Brandon Royval. Royval’s will has stirred up an eagerness to pursue UFC gold.
“I’m going balls to the wall,” Royval said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I trust my pace. I trust my cardio. A fifth-round Raw Dawg is a dangerous Raw Dawg. I trust myself. However, I think if I ever fought Pantoja again—maybe I shouldn’t be telling my secrets—but I’m going straight after him. I think I played it too safe. And, I was a little too worried. That being said, I’m going forward. I’m going guns and blazing, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I see a title shot next, there’s no way about it,” Royval said. “I have a win over the whole top 5 of the division. I’m all about rematches, but that being said, I earned my way to a title shot. I took a short-notice against the No. 1, I just took out the hottest prospect in the division, I think a title shot is what’s next for me and I’ll be the backup for the title fight Dec. 7.”
That Dec. 7 title fight features Pantoja defending his flyweight championship against UFC newcomer Kai Asakura in the co-main event of UFC 310.
“I’ve been watching Kai Asakura for a while,” Royval said. “I think he’s sick. I think there’s a lot of cool things. He’s yet to make flyweight, so I’ll be there and I’ll be ready just in case he doesn’t. That being said, I’ll give that man his roses. I think that he brings a lot of excitement to the division. But, I think he could take out Pantoja. I think if Pantoja grapples him at all, it’s going to be over. That being said, the fight starts on the feet.”
The UFC awarded Royval and Taira a $50,000 bonus for their performances of the night. Ramazan Temirov and Clayton Carpenter also earned Performance of the Night bonuses after their flyweight debuts.
Main Card
Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira via split decision
Jun Yong Park def. Brad Tavares via split decision
Chidi Njokuani def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision
Grant Dawson def. Rafa Garcia via TKO (strikes)
Daniel Rodriguez def. Alex Morono via split decision
Preliminary Card
Ramazan Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (strikes)
Pat Sabatini def. Jonathan Pearce via rear-naked choke submission
Themba Gorimbo def. Niko Price via unanimous decision
