After coming up short in a record-setting fight, Brandon Royval is looking to get back on track for a shot at the UFC flyweight belt.
The Denver native takes on Manel Kape in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Royval, the No. 2 contender in the division, hopes a win can put him back into the discussion for a flyweight title fight.
In Royval’s last fight, the Chatfield alum lost a unanimous decision to Joshua Van. In that June 28 bout, Van — who won the title with a win over Alexandre Pantoja last weekend when Pantoja broke his arm in the first round — beat Royval in a slugfest that was ultimately decided by a knockdown of Royval late in the third round.
Royval landed 215 significant strikes, a flyweight record, while the two fighters combined for a UFC three-round record 419 significant strikes.
“It’s kind of always been my career of trying to fight people where they’re best at, and that’s what I did against Van (with inside boxing),” Moreno said. “And that’s why I wasn’t fighting for a belt last weekend.
“It was a really cool fight. Fight of the Night, and it’ll probably be the (UFC) Fight of the Year. But that being said, it was definitely an avoidable loss in my record.”
Royval, who lost his one title shot so far to Pantoja two years ago this month, believes he can out-pace Kape in a fight that’s been nearly a year in the making.
The two 125-pounders were supposed to headline UFC Fight Night on March 1, but Royval had to withdraw because of a pair of concussions he sustained while training. Then they were supposed to meet again on June 28, but Kape withdrew because of a broken foot from training, which led to Royval fighting Van on short notice.
“Kape is a dangerous guy the first two rounds, but in a five-round fight, I have him buried,” Royval said. “The first two rounds I just want to put a pace on him that he can’t keep up with. I’ll drown him later on. That’s the goal in the final few rounds, is to take him to the deep end and drown him.”
If Royval does that, he believes he should be in line to get the next crack at the belt in a re-match with Van — even if most of the UFC pundits are predicting that Tatsuro Taira will get that opportunity. The Japanese fighter and No. 3 contender is coming off a win over Brandon Moreno, the No. 4 contender, over the weekend.
But Royval beat both those fighters in 2024, including Moreno on short notice in the Mexican fighter’s home country.
“(The UFC) can give the next title shot to Tatsuro, and it sounds like they’re thinking about it,” Royval said. “But I beat Tatsuro less than a year ago. When I win on Saturday, I think I have a strong case. Even though I lost to Joshua Van, that fight was decided by the last 10 seconds. And I think I was winning up until then.”
Royval hopes to earn another Fight of the Night bonus on Saturday. He plans on using some of his winnings to give back to families through the Denver Dream Center, a nonprofit that Royval works closely with.
“The goal is to go out there, beat up on Manel Kape, get a bonus, and sponsor as many families as I can for this upcoming Christmas,” Royval said. “I’m going to (sponsor families) no matter what, but the more money I make, the more families I can sponsor.
“I’ll fight for myself, fight for the opportunity (to fight for the belt), but also I’m fighting for this Denver community that means everything to me.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.