Brandon Royval plans to continue “spoiling parties” after pulling off an upset win at UFC Mexico.
In December 2023, Royval attempted to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja of his flyweight title in the UFC 296 main event. Unfortunately for ‘Raw Dawg,’ Pantoja utilized his grappling skills to secure a unanimous decision win and retain his throne.
On Saturday night, Royval had an opportunity to bounce back in a short-notice main event matchup against Brandon Moreno. This time, the Factory X Muay Thai affiliate wouldn’t be denied, as he scratched and clawed his way to a split-decision win.
Following his impressive victory, Royval sat down for his UFC Mexico post-fight press conference. ‘Raw Dawg’ had this to say about what was going through his head when Bruce Buffer was announcing the judge’s scorecards:
“I thought I got ripped off. I didn’t realize I won until my coach grabbed me. I honestly thought I got ripped off. When they read that 49-46 scorecard, I was like, ‘What the f*ck.’ I thought I got ripped off so I was like pissed for a second and then I realized, ‘Oh wait, I won. We’re good, never mind, I’m cool.’ I guess I realized it when Herb [Dean] raised my hand.”
Judge Junichiro Kamijo scored the fight 49-46 for Moreno, which was disputed by many fans. When asked how he scored the bout, Royval had this to say during his press conference:
“I thought I won four rounds, but you never know. I’m over here trying to score while f*cking getting punched in the face. I really didn’t know, so I guess that’s not really my job. I was just leaning on my corner. My corner was like, ‘You’re up two.’ Once that third round happened, I thought I won that too or I think they told me I won that, and I was like, ‘Cool, I think we got this in the bag. Time to pick up the pace or whatever it is and kind of go from there.’”
Watch Royval’s entire UFC Mexico post-fight press conference below:
Brandon Royval plans to ‘keep spoiling parties’ following UFC Mexico
Brandon Royval spoiled the party on Saturday night, as the Mexican crowd was disappointed that he defeated their hometown hero. Now that he’s back in the title picture, Royval hopes to potentially enter enemy territory again, as flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja is targeting his next title defense for Brazil.
During the UFC Mexico post-fight interview, Royval had this to say about what he wants next:
“I’m going to keep spoiling parties. At UFC 301, I’m going to fight Pantoja, and I’m going to take his belt in his hometown. We’ll keep spoiling parties. After I win that belt, I’ll defend my belt in Denver, Colorado.”
Brandon Royval made his UFC debut in May 2020. Since then, he’s established a promotional record of 6-3 and become a fan favorite. It’ll be intriguing to see if Royval can continue building momentum and make his dream come true of becoming a UFC champion.
Brandon Royval grimaces in pain attempting to stand up and exit the #UFCMexico post-fight press conference 😬 pic.twitter.com/1Pw593NQMj
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 25, 2024
