Tag: Brandon Royval

Challenge issued after Brandon Royval throws shade on Muhammad Mokaev’s UFC Fight Night 238 win

Brandon Royval and Muhammad Mokaev exchanged words as they both campaign for a UFC title fight.

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] and [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] exchanged words as they both campaign for a title fight.

Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) edged out former champion Brandon Moreno in the UFC Fight Night 237 main event in Mexico City. Prior to that, Royval fell short to flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja for a second time in their title fight this past December at UFC 296.

A week after Royval beat Moreno, Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) defeated former title challenger Alex Perez Saturday at UFC Fight Night 238. Royval took aim at Mokaev’s performance with a simple remark on X.

“This is y’all’s boy 😂😂.”

Mokaev, 23, wasn’t impressed with Royval’s win over Moreno either, suggesting they fight in a No. 1 contender bout.

“You got choked out by Pantoja then 45-50 in second fight UFC coming to Manchester in July, come fight me, I’m undefeated , you’re 16-8 in you career, taking same route as Artem Lobov.”

With Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) looking to defend his title at UFC 301 May 4 in Brazil, both fighters said they’ll be ready to go by then. Royval initially had a scare about his knee but confirmed he’ll be able to fight in May.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

4 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 237: Is Brian Ortega’s rebirth a title threat?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 237, including the paths of Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico? Here are a few post-fight musings …

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UFC Fight Night 237 matchmaker: What’s next for key winners and losers in Mexico City?

Time to play matchmaker for Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 237.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.

With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC Fight Night 237’s key winning fighters.

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UFC Fight Night 237 post-event facts: Yair Rodriguez hits unprecedented career slump

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 237, which saw Yair Rodriguez hit the first losing skid of his career.

The UFC’s final event of February took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico.

A flyweight contender re-emerged in the main event, when replacement headliner [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) exacted revenge on former UFC champ [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) with a split decision victory in their rematch from November 2020.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 237.

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Brandon Royval aims to ‘keep spoiling parties’ against Alexandre Pantoja after UFC Mexico win

The fiesta was spoiled by Brandon Royval at UFC Mexico, and now he’s looking to do the same at UFC 301.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] spoiled the fiesta Saturday at Mexico City Arena, and he hopes to continue his tour of disappointing UFC attendees.

With a split decision win over former titleholder Brandon Moreno in the UFC Fight Night 237 main event, Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) thinks the logical next choice for a flyweight title challenger is himself. A May 4 rematch vs. titleholder [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is what he wants.

“I’m going to keep spoiling parties,” Royval told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “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.”

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Some fights fans might be sour to the idea of running back a fight that just took place in December. Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defeated Royval at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

However, Royval would ask the naysayers to look at his improvement in the two months since then and what he was able to accomplish Saturday in hostile territory.

“You’ve seen it,” Royval said. “I’ve made adjustments in six weeks or five weeks, whatever it was. It was five weeks because I hurt my hand, and I couldn’t get back into training. I had a five-week training camp for that. In five weeks, I made a bunch of adjustments. I didn’t get held down. Brandon Moreno tried to slow me down, hold me down, slow the pace, keep me down. They ain’t going to hold me down no more, bro.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Headliners get combined $17,000

UFC Fight Night 237 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

MEXICO CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $135,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 237 took place at Mexico City Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 237 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mateus Mendonca[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ronaldo Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Erik Silva[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2371 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,228,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,935,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 results: Brandon Royval upsets Brandon Moreno in Mexico

The winner of the UFC Fight Night 237 main event was Brandon, but not the one the Mexico City crowd in attendance hoped for.

The winner of the UFC Fight Night 237 main event was Brandon, but not the one the Mexico City crowd in attendance hoped for.

Saturday at Mexico City Arena, [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated former flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) by split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47).

The five-round non-title affair was filled with high-volume exchanges, despite the elevation. Royval overcame a bothersome left knee, which his Factory X corner iced between rounds, to defeat Moreno with his aggression and boxing.

Moreno was strong early, but as the fight progressed, Royval’s rate of success increased. The fight was razor-close going into the fifth round. Both corners indicated to their fighters the urgency of the moment.

The final minute of the bout was thrilling as the two flyweights wildly chucked fists at each other in a last-ditch effort to make their final impressions of three cage-side judges.

While the “Brandon” that rolled off Bruce Buffer’s tongue caused some confusion, the “Royval” sealed the deal.

The first meeting between the two took place in November 2020 and ended in unfortunate fashion when Royval injured his shoulder, which caused a stoppage with one second left in the first round. The win propelled Moreno to a title tetralogy against Deiveson Figueiredo. Upon his return, Royval went 3-1 en route a title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja, which he lost by unanimous decision in December.

It’s unclear if Royval will be next for Pantoja. UFC CEO Dana White would not commit to who the next flyweight contender is during his post-fight news conference.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 237 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Social media reacts to Brandon Royval’s upset of Brandon Moreno in UFC Fight Night 237 rematch

The MMA community reacted to Brandon Royval’s upset of former champ Brandon Moreno in their UFC Fight Night 237 rematch.

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] avenged one of the key losses of his career against [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 237 – and did it in enemy territory.

Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) went into a hostile situation at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City and upset former two-time flyweight champion Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) by split decision, getting one back after he suffered a first-round TKO loss in their first meeting back in November 2020.

With the win, Royval could potentially get another title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in May.

Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Royval’s victory over Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237.

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UFC Fight Night 237 video: Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval final faceoff for Mexico rematch

Check out the final staredown between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval ahead of their main event bout at UFC Fight Night 237.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] are ready for their rematch.

The two flyweight contenders were very respectful in their first faceoff at Wednesday’s media day, and the tone remained the same in their faceoff at the UFC Fight Night 237 ceremonial weigh-ins. Moreno and Royval headline the event, which takes place Saturday at Mexico City Arena.

Moreno (21-7-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) and Royval (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) first fought in 2020. The bout ended in a first-round TKO in favor of Moreno. Both fighters are coming off losses to Alexandre Pantoja in title fights.

Check out the video above to see the final staredown between Moreno and Royval from the UFC Fight night 237 ceremonial weigh-ins.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 video: Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval make weight in Mexico City

The main event for the UFC’s long-awaited return to Mexico is official after the headliners made weight Friday.

MEXICO CITY – The main event for the UFC’s long-awaited return to Mexico is official after the headliners made weight Friday.

Ahead of UFC Fight Night 237 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Mexico City Arena, former bantamweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-7-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) and [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) stepped on the scale for their rematch at the official weigh-ins.

Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.