Charles Johnson is not trying to sit around and admire the weird little masterpiece he just pulled off. After twisting Eduardo Henrique into a rare Scottish twister at UFC 330, Johnson is already asking for a fast turnaround, a bigger name, and a chance to clean up old business with Brandon Royval.
Johnson put Royval at the top of a three-name wish list that also included Kyoji Horiguchi and Tatsuro Taira. That is not exactly a soft re-entry into the flyweight shark tank. It is Johnson pointing at the division’s nastier end and saying he wants smoke while the submission clip is still making the rounds.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani after UFC 330, Johnson said, “I would love to fight as soon as I’m healthy, within the next 90 days… I’d like to fight Brandon Royval, Kyoji Horiguchi or Tatsuro Taira. Give me one of those guys. They’re all proven.”
Watch the clip below.
Charles Johnson wants another quick turnaround and has Brandon Royval at the top of his wishlist:
"I would love to fight as soon as I’m healthy, within the next 90 days… I’d like to fight Brandon Royval, Kyoji Horiguchi or Tatsuro Taira. Give me one of those guys. They’re all proven.
If I had a preference, no doubt, it’s Brandon Royval. We had an amazing fight in LFA, and I think he’s the most proven out of those three guys. I think he’s the best out of those three guys. We’re both dogs. It’s gonna be fucking fight of the year."
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 17, 2026
Johnson Wants The Royval Rematch First
Johnson did not leave much mystery about the preferred option. “If I had a preference, no doubt, it’s Brandon Royval,” he said. “We had an amazing fight in LFA, and I think he’s the most proven out of those three guys. I think he’s the best out of those three guys. We’re both dogs. It’s gonna be fucking fight of the year.”
The history is why this callout has a little bite. Royval beat Johnson back in 2018 under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner, years before both men became known UFC flyweights. Johnson is 35 now, has fought four times this year, and is coming off a rebound win after dropping his previous bout to Asu Almabayev. He also owns wins over Lone’er Kavanagh and current champion Joshua Van, so this is not some random dude yelling from the cheap seats.
Royval is still the bigger swing. He is 18-9 and recently submitted Lone’er Kavanagh at UFC 329, bouncing back from losses to Van and Manel Kape. That keeps him close enough to the title-picture chaos that fighting Johnson would be a real risk, especially with Johnson chasing momentum off one of the strangest submissions the Octagon has seen.
Horiguchi and Taira are not throwaway names either. Horiguchi brings world-class experience across multiple major promotions, while Taira remains one of the division’s most dangerous young grapplers even after his own recent setbacks. Johnson asking for any of those three is basically him choosing hard mode after a finish that already bought him some shine.
Whether the UFC gives him Royval is the interesting part. The flyweight division is moving fast, and Johnson just gave matchmakers the kind of highlight and quote combo they can actually sell. A 90-day turnaround into a Royval rematch would be ambitious matchmaking, but Johnson is clearly done whispering.
