Brandon Royval
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 17, 2023, he is #4 in the UFC flyweight rankings.[4]
Brandon Royval | |
---|---|
Born | Denver, Colorado, United States | August 16, 1992
Other names | Raw Dawg |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Weight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb) |
Division | Flyweight |
Reach | 68 in (173 cm)[1] |
Fighting out of | Denver, Colorado |
Team | Factory X[2] |
Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Mario "Busy" Correa[2][3] |
Years active | 2012–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 21 |
Wins | 15 |
By knockout | 4 |
By submission | 9 |
By decision | 2 |
Losses | 6 |
By knockout | 1 |
By submission | 1 |
By decision | 4 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
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 is scheduled to rematch with Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship title on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296.[31]
Personal life
After the win against Kai Kara-France, Royval quit his full-time job in the juvenile justice system.[8] He also works as the jiu-jitsu instructor at Factory X.[32]
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Tim Elliott, Kai Kara-France, and Matt Schnell[11][14][23]
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Matheus Nicolau[30]
- Legacy Fighting Alliance
- Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion (One time)[8]
Mixed martial arts record
21 matches | 15 wins | 6 losses |
By knockout | 4 | 1 |
By submission | 9 | 1 |
By decision | 2 | 4 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 15–6 | Matheus Nicolau | KO (knee and elbows) | UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen | April 15, 2023 | 1 | 2:09 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 14–6 | Matt Schnell | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 274 | May 7, 2022 | 1 | 2:14 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | Fight of the Night. |
Win | 13–6 | Rogério Bontorin | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze | January 15, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 12–6 | Alexandre Pantoja | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum | August 21, 2021 | 2 | 1:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 12–5 | Brandon Moreno | TKO (punches) | UFC 255 | November 21, 2020 | 1 | 4:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 12–4 | Kai Kara-France | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 253 | September 27, 2020 | 2 | 0:48 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Fight of the Night. |
Win | 11–4 | Tim Elliott | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns | May 30, 2020 | 2 | 3:18 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
Win | 10–4 | Nate Williams | Submission (armbar) | LFA 79 | November 22, 2019 | 1 | 0:23 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Won the vacant LFA Flyweight Championship. |
Win | 9–4 | Joby Sanchez | Submission (armbar) | LFA 65 | May 3, 2019 | 1 | 3:17 | Vail, Colorado, United States | |
Loss | 8–4 | Casey Kenney | Decision (unanimous) | LFA 53 | November 9, 2018 | 5 | 5:00 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | For the interim LFA Flyweight Championship. |
Win | 8–3 | Charles Johnson | Decision (unanimous) | LFA 48 | September 7, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Kearney, Nebraska, United States | |
Win | 7–3 | Jerome Rivera | TKO (arm injury) | LFA 39 | May 4, 2018 | 1 | 0:40 | Vail, Colorado, United States | |
Win | 6–3 | Demetrius Wilson | Submission (triangle choke) | LFA 22 | September 8, 2017 | 2 | 2:00 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
Loss | 5–3 | Nick Urso | Decision (split) | LFA 10 | April 21, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Pueblo, Colorado, United States | |
Win | 5–2 | Rakan Adwan | Submission (armbar) | LFA 5 | February 24, 2017 | 1 | 1:54 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
Win | 4–2 | Angel Torres | Submission (triangle choke) | SCL 53 | October 15, 2016 | 1 | 0:34 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Flyweight debut. |
Loss | 3–2 | Ricky Palacios | Decision (unanimous) | Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 5 | May 26, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
Win | 3–1 | Danny Mainus | KO (knee) | WSOF 29 | March 12, 2016 | 1 | 2:48 | Greeley, Colorado, United States | |
Win | 2–1 | Joey Welch | TKO (punches) | SCL: Mile High Mayhem | August 23, 2014 | 1 | 0:51 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
Loss | 1–1 | Ben VomBaur | Decision (unanimous) | Kick Down MMA 104 | October 19, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
Win | 1–0 | Sammy Rind | TKO (elbows) | Kick Down MMA 102 | August 17, 2012 | 1 | 1:45 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Catchweight (140 lb) bout. |
References
- "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- "Brandon Royval | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- Jim Norton; Matt Serra (May 3, 2022). "Randy Brown, Brandon Royval, and UFC Fight Night: Font vs Vera recap" (Podcast).
- "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- Jake Howard. "Brandon "Raw Dog" Royval makes flyweight". mymetmedia.com.
- Bitter, Shawn (2019-03-28). "Welcome to the UFC: Casey Kenney". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
- John Morgan (May 3, 2019). "LFA 65 results: Brandon Royval taps out UFC vet Joby Sanchez". mmajunkie.com.
- Thomas Gerbasi (2020-11-19). "Brandon Royval Knows He Belongs". UFC.com.
- Farah Hannoun (2020-05-21). "UFC adds Tim Elliott vs. Brandon Royval to May 30 lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Bitter, Shawn (2020-05-30). "UFC Vegas Results: Brandon Royval Submits Tim Elliott in Octagon Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- Haynes, Stephie (2020-05-31). "UFC Las Vegas bonuses: Dern's record-setting kneebar wins POTN". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- Marcel Dorff (2020-07-27). "UFC Flyweightclash tussen Kai Kara-France en Brandon Royval op 26 september" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- Fuentes, Jon (2020-09-26). "UFC 253 Results: Brandon Royval Makes Kai Kara-France Tap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- Alexander K. Lee (2020-09-27). "UFC 253 bonuses: Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz cash in with championship performances". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- Mike Bohn (2020-10-02). "Brandon Royval replaces Alex Perez, meets Brandon Moreno at UFC 255". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- Evanoff, Josh (2020-11-21). "UFC 255 Results: Brandon Moreno Finishes Injured Brandon Royval". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- Marcel Dorff (2021-05-11). "Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 21 augustus". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-03-06.
- Anderson, Jay (2021-08-21). "UFC Vegas 34 Results: Alexandre Pantoja Subs Game Brandon Royval". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- Guilherme Cruz and Mike Heck (2021-10-01). "Rogerio Bontorin returns vs. Brandon Royval at Jan. 15 UFC event". MMAFighting. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
- Gibbons, Justin (2022-01-15). "UFC Vegas 46: Brandon Royval Grinds Out Split Decision Against Bontorin". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
- Martin, Damon (2022-02-24). "Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell added to UFC 274". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- Behunin, Alex (2022-05-07). "UFC 274: Brandon Royval Taps Matt Schnell In A Wild Two Minute Scrap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- Anderson, Jay (2022-05-08). "UFC 274: Chandler, Fialho Earn Performance of the Night Bonuses". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- Jay Anderson (2022-08-03). "UFC: Brandon Royval vs. Askar Askarov set for October 15". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- Fighting, MMA. "Brandon Royval vs. Askar Askarov called off for UFC Vegas 62". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- Jay Anderson (2022-10-25). "Brandon Royval vs. Amir Albazi Set for UFC's December 17 Card". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- King, Nolan (2022-11-23). "Brandon Royval announces he's out of UFC Fight Night 216 due to broken wrist". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- Calhoun, Curtis (2023-02-09). "Brandon Royval vs. Matheus Nicolau Booked For UFC Kansas City, Twitter Reacts". MMA News. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- Anderson, Jay (2023-04-15). "UFC Kansas City: Brandon Royval Floors Matheus Nicolau, Calls for Title Shot". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- "UFC on ESPN 44 bonuses: Edson Barboza's spectacular knee knockout earns $50,000". MMA Junkie. 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- Martin, Damon (2023-09-20). "Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval 2 set to headline UFC 296". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- "Professor Brandon Royval". factoryxmuaythai.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- Sherdog.com. "Brandon Royval". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.