Brandon Royval won a split decision victory over Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City, avenging his first UFC loss to Moreno in 2020.
Brandon Royval? Yeah, he had to sit tight for over three years to finally beat Brandon Moreno. Quite a wait, huh?
They were the main event in UFC Mexico City last Saturday. And boy, did they deliver! Five rounds of back and forth, ending in a split decision.
Guess who walked out with the win? Royval. Two 48-47 scores got him the victory.
What made this win so special? Well, Moreno was the one who handed Royval his first UFC loss back in 2020. They first clashed at UFC 255. Moreno won that one, with a first-round TKO. Poor Royval had a shoulder injury at the worst possible time.
Moreno went on to become a two-time flyweight champ. Royval? Still waiting for that gold belt.
But hey, Royval might get his shot at UFC 301 in Rio. That’s if Alexandre Pantoja, the current 125-pound champ, headlines. Pantoja’s got two wins over Royval already. One was a decision victory at UFC 296 just a couple of months back. But for Pantoja, there might not be a better option right now.
The pros watching the fight? They couldn’t get enough. Non-stop action. Check out their excited tweets below.
“Incredibly close fight. Both Brandon’s put on a helluva show and had their moments,” tweeted Megan Anderson. She added, “Royval stepped in on short notice tonight in what was being considered a no.1 contender fight tonight.. since his last fight was a L to the champ.. don’t see him getting that immediate rematch…”
Amir Albazi wasn’t as impressed. “They both looked horrible. I see you guys soon,” he tweeted.
Belal Muhammad had a different take. “Both guys named Brandon I think the judges are gonna be all over the place with these cards,” he tweeted.
Jared Gordon had his own thoughts. “I thought Royval won but that probably means nothing in Mexico,” he tweeted.