LAS VEGAS – Oftentimes fighters aim to take the littlest damage possible in a fight.
Saturday, Brandon Royval plans to do the opposite. Known for his hectic, wild fighting style, Royval (14-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) admitted at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday he expects to take damage to dish it against Askar Askarov (14-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 212.
“I’m going to fight and I want to make it hell for both of us,” Royval told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “If I feel the hell and I feel the pain of a fight, I know he’s feeling it. I want to put us both through hell and I want to come out the top person. That’s the whole entire goal of this fight, it’s to drag us to hell and come out lighting that fire.”
Shortly after his UFC signing in 2020, it was a rocket ship ride to contendership for Royval, who defeated Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France in his first two promotional appearances. Losses to Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja followed, but Royval has bounced back recently with victories over Rogerio Bontorin and Matt Schnell.
Given the division and his momentum, Royval thinks this might be the most impactful fight of his career to date.
“This is a huge matchup for me,” Royval said. “This is a really skilled opponent. It feels bigger than others, honestly. It really does. The more of a statement I can make in this fight, the closer I can get to a title and that’s always the main goal for all of us fighters, anyway. It’s just (to) get to that championship belt as soon as possible and the smoothest way possible and hopefully I can make a statement and make a campaign toward that title shot or contender shot.
Future title contention opportunities are paused as the UFC flyweight division awaits the victor of the first tetralogy in promotion history. Champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former champ Brandon Moreno are tied at one win, one loss, and one draw apiece. They’ll fight a fourth time Jan. 21 at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Royval recognizes past foe Pantoja is in front of him in the queue, so he’s not looking directly at titles. He wants to steal Pantoja’s spot.
“I think Pantoja got the backup spot, but I can ideally try to navigate and go out there and get a finish on Askarov,” Royval said. “I don’t see why that wouldn’t earn me a Pantoja rematch on the undercard or somewhere on that card. You know what I’m saying? That’s the goal, man – to win this fight and then line myself up with one of these guys. The winner or loser of that fight would be great. Or Pantoja would be great. The winner would be even better, but I don’t necessarily see that happening as of right now.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
