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Brandon Royval

American mixed martial artist (born 1992) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Brandon Matthew Royval[4] (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Royval has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. As of July 1, 2025, he is #3 in the UFC flyweight rankings.[5]

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Background

Born and raised in Denver, Brandon was already training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai at the age of 15.[6] Royval has an older brother, Darian.[6]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

Royval took his first amateur bout at the age of 18, racking up a 5–0 record.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Brandon made his UFC debut on May 30, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns against Tim Elliott.[10] He won the fight via submission in the second round.[11] This fight earned Royval a Fight of the Night award.[12]

Royval faced Kai Kara-France on September 27, 2020 at UFC 253.[13] After both fighters being knocked down in the first round, Royval won the fight via submission in the second round.[14] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[15]

Royval was a replacement for Alex Perez against Brandon Moreno on November 21, 2020 at UFC 255.[16] He lost the fight via technical knockout on round one.[17]

Royval faced Alexandre Pantoja on August 21, 2021 UFC on ESPN 29.[18] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round two.[19]

Rise to title contention

Royval faced Rogério Bontorin on January 15, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 32.[20] He won the fight via split decision.[21]

Royval faced Matt Schnell on May 7, 2022 at UFC 274.[22] He won the back-and-forth fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.[23] The fight also won both men the Fight of the Night bonus award.[24]

Royval was scheduled to face Askar Askarov on October 15, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 212.[25] However the bout was cancelled the day before the event due to weight management issues.[26]

Royval was set to face Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 216 on December 17, 2022.[27] However, Royval pulled out of the bout in late November due to a broken wrist.[28]

Royval faced Matheus Nicolau on April 15, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 44.[29] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[30] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[31]

Royval had a rematch with Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship title on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296.[32] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[33]

Post title shot

Royval faced former UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno in a rematch, replacing Amir Albazi, at UFC Fight Night 237 on February 24, 2024.[34] He won the fight via split decision.[35] 13 out of 18 media outlets scored the bout for Royval.[36]

As the last bout of his prevailing contract, Royval faced former Shooto Flyweight Champion Tatsuro Taira on October 12, 2024 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 244.[37] He won the fight by split decision.[38] This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award.[39]

Royval was scheduled to face former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape on March 1, 2025 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 253.[40] However, due to multiple concussions, Royval pulled out of the fight.[41][42] The bout was rescheduled to take place on June 28, 2025 at UFC 317.[42] However, Kape pulled out due to a fractured foot and was replaced by Joshua Van.[43] Royval lost the fight by unanimous decision.[44] This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award.[45] Royval and Van landed a total of 419 significant strikes, which broke the record for most significant strikes landed in a three-round UFC fight and flyweight bout.[46]

Royval has been re-scheduled for the third time to face Manel Kape which will take place on December 13, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 266.[47]

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Personal life

Royval grew up in a Mexican family.[48] After his win against Kai Kara-France, Royval left his full-time job in the juvenile justice system.[9] He also worked as the jiu-jitsu instructor at Factory X.[49]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
25 matches 17 wins 8 losses
By knockout 4 1
By submission 9 1
By decision 4 6
More information Res., Record ...

[58]

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See also

References

External links

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