Brandon Royval

Last updated
Brandon Royval
Born (1992-08-16) August 16, 1992 (age 31)
Denver, Colorado, United States
Other namesRaw Dawg
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb)
Division Flyweight
Reach68 in (173 cm) [1]
Fighting out ofDenver, Colorado
TeamFactory X [2]
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [2] under Mario "Busy" Correa [3]
Years active2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins16
By knockout5
By submission8
By decision3
Losses7
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision5
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

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]

Contents

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 matches16 wins7 losses
By knockout41
By submission91
By decision35
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win16–7 Brandon Moreno Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 February 24, 202455:00 Mexico City, Mexico
Loss15–7 Alexandre Pantoja Decision (unanimous) UFC 296 December 16, 202355:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesFor the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Win15–6 Matheus Nicolau KO (knee and elbows) UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen April 15, 202312:09 Kansas City, Missouri, United StatesPerformance of the Night.
Win14–6 Matt Schnell Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 274 May 7, 202212:14 Phoenix, Arizona, United StatesFight of the Night.
Win13–6 Rogério Bontorin Decision (split) UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze January 15, 202235:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss12–6 Alexandre Pantoja Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum August 21, 202121:46 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss12–5 Brandon Moreno TKO (punches) UFC 255 November 21, 202014:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win12–4 Kai Kara-France Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 253 September 27, 202020:48 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesFight of the Night.
Win11–4 Tim Elliott Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns May 30, 202023:18 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesFight of the Night.
Win10–4Nate WilliamsSubmission (armbar) LFA 79 November 22, 201910:23 Broomfield, Colorado, United StatesWon the vacant LFA Flyweight Championship.
Win9–4 Joby Sanchez Submission (armbar) LFA 65 May 3, 201913:17 Vail, Colorado, United States
Loss8–4 Casey Kenney Decision (unanimous) LFA 53 November 9, 201855:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United StatesFor the interim LFA Flyweight Championship.
Win8–3Charles JohnsonDecision (unanimous) LFA 48 September 7, 201835:00 Kearney, Nebraska, United States
Win7–3 Jerome Rivera TKO (arm injury) LFA 39 May 4, 201810:40 Vail, Colorado, United States
Win6–3Demetrius WilsonSubmission (triangle choke) LFA 22 September 8, 201722:00 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Loss5–3Nick UrsoDecision (split) LFA 10 April 21, 201735:00 Pueblo, Colorado, United States
Win5–2Rakan AdwanSubmission (armbar) LFA 5 February 24, 201711:54 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win4–2Angel TorresSubmission (triangle choke)SCL 53October 15, 201610:34 Denver, Colorado, United StatesFlyweight debut.
Loss3–2Ricky PalaciosDecision (unanimous)Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 5May 26, 201635:00 Los Angeles, California, United States
Win3–1Danny MainusKO (knee) WSOF 29 March 12, 201612:48 Greeley, Colorado, United States
Win2–1Joey WelchTKO (punches)SCL: Mile High MayhemAugust 23, 201410:51 Denver, Colorado, United States
Loss1–1Ben VomBaurDecision (unanimous)Kick Down MMA 104: BOOMOctober 19, 201235:00 Denver, Colorado, United StatesBantamweight debut.
Win1–0Sammy RindTKO (elbows)Kick Down MMA 102: RebelsAugust 17, 201211:45 Denver, Colorado, United StatesCatchweight (140 lb) bout.

[38]

See also

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