After losing to snatch the belt from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296, Brandon Royval came back to cement his claim to the title shot again.
Royval faced Brandon Moreno in the main event bout of UFC Fight Night 237 on Saturday. Moreno was originally set to face Amir Albazi, but the fighter had to withdraw, allowing “Raw Dawg” to step in as a replacement. Fortunately for him, despite Moreno showing little excitement in taking the fight, it ended up as the right decision for Royval.
The first round of the match was not entirely exciting, with the first minutes being dry and even the referee asking both to start throwing attacks. After this, the two began trading shots and kicks, with Moreno seemingly dominating the round.
This continued in the second round for “The Assassin Baby,” but Royval started being aggressive in the third, especially in throwing kicks. Royval brought the same energy in the fourth, and although Moreno tried to send attacks continuously, the opponent made more remarkable points in the round.
In the last round, Moreno ended up clinching with Royval after landing several shots at the opponent. After being separated, Moreno threw an overhand right, but Royval responded with more attacks. More tried to appear active in the cage by sending big shots, but in terms of volume, Royval definitely stood out. In the end, the judges gave the fight the scores of 48-47, 46-49, and 48-47, which favored Royval.
The result has derailed Moreno’s plan. Prior to the loss, the fighter was anticipating that he would be the one to challenge Pantoja for the flyweight belt. However, with the defeat, the fighter also probably lost the shot to Royval. Nonetheless, UFC CEO Dana White still hasn’t confirmed any decision about this. The only thing that seems to be certain now is the champ’s intention to join the UFC Rio de Janeiro card on May 4.
