Brandon Royval was patiently waiting to fight in front of a crowd for the first time in his UFC career, and when he did, he delivered in a big way.
Royval (14-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) scored a beautiful submission of Matt Schnell (14-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 274 prelims at Footprint Center in Phoenix, and he overcame some adversity in the process.
After Schnell connected with a heavy punch that led to a knockdown in the opening moments of the flyweight fight, Royval kept his composure and scrambled his way into a brilliant guillotine choke that forced the tap.
Check out the replay of the slick finish below (via Twitter):
Royval jumped into a guillotine and didn't let go 💪
Stream #UFC274 on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/BgblprK2jC pic.twitter.com/q8LbpbgwEU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 8, 2022
Royval was rightfully fired up in the aftermath of one of his biggest wins to date. He is looking for a big jump up at 125 pounds, and made it clear he wants a championship bout with Deiveson Figueiredo next.
“I walk into the fire every time, and I’m walking out with the f*cking win,” Royval said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “I’m going to tell all the flyweights in the division … I want that title shot next.”
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:
- Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:14
- Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Fialho def. Cameron VanCamp via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:35
- Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- CJ Vergara def. Kleydson Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Loopy Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Journey Newson def. Fernie Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
