Watch Brandon Royval avenge his loss to Brandon Moreno in Mexico City back in February.
[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] had a tall order for his bounce back from his first UFC championship defeat.
After losing to Alexandre Pantoja in a UFC flyweight title fight back in December 2023, “Raw Dawg” was booked to take on former champion Brandon Moreno, who had defeated him in 2020, in enemy territory – Moreno’s home country of Mexico. Yet, despite the difficulty, Royval rose to the challenge and defeated Moreno in a hard-fought split decision.
You can watch Royval’s big win over Moreno in the video above.
Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) returns to the octagon this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 244 in Las Vegas. He takes on undefeated Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a flyweight contest.
Can recent title challenger Brandon Royval get back in the flyweight hunt with an upset of unbeaten Tatsuro Taira?
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC Fight Night 244 main event: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira (ESPN+).
Supplemental info:
+ LFA flyweight title
+ Amateur MMA accolades
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 4 KO victories
+ 9 submission wins
+ 10 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Active feints and footwork
+ Diverse shot selection
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Dangerous knees and elbows
+ Active and urgent scrambler
^ Good granby rolls
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Opportunistic submission threat
+/- 3-2 inside the UFC Apex
Supplemental info:
+ Shooto flyweight title
+ Amateur MMA accolades
+ 5 knockout victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Good sense of range
^ Measures distance well
+ Steadily improving striking
^ Hard kicks from the left side
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Solid takedown ability
^ Chains well against the fence
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Superb back-taker
+/- 1-0 against UFC-level southpaws
+/- 5-0 in the UFC Apex
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira point of interest: Flyweight fisticuffs counters
Dec 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) fights Brandon Royval (blue gloves) during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
The main event in Las Vegas features an important battle between top-ranked flyweights, [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag].
Royval, who is more of a free-flowing stylist, is at his best when seizing the striking initiative through his dynamic southpaw offerings.
Akin to many Factory-X fighters, Royval utilizes some crafty feints and footwork that helps both setup and pull out offense. Once he gets a beat to his liking, Royval quickly responds with solid combinations which are often punctuated with dangerous kicks and knees.
When Royval’s feeling in stride, he will incorporate slick spinning assaults either coming forward or off the counter. That said, the former title challenger is not beyond being countered for his aggression.
Enter Taira.
Fighting his frame and stylistic sensibilities, Taira will typically look to play all the way in or all the way out when it comes to his operating range.
At distance, Taira looks to set up long straight shots off his in-and-out movement. When feeling in stride, Taira will attach solid kicks to his combinations (particularly off of his lead side).
Taira has also shown a solid ability to strike into collar ties, which could come in handy when it comes to corralling a sporadic and dynamic Royval.
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira breakdown: Protect your neck
Jul 8, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Tatsuro Taira (red gloves) fights Edgar Chairez (blue gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Considering both the stylistic dynamic and the fighting terrain, winning the wrestling will arguably be paramount for both parties this weekend.
A talented back-taker who is steadily rounding out his surrounding skill set, Taira appears to have no illusions as to where his bread is buttered.
Not only is Taira patient when it comes to setting up his shots, but the Japanese fighter does not seem easily discouraged when failing on his first attempt.
Akin to great MMA grapplers like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Taira looks to be perfectly content with using his first shot to drive his opposition toward the octagon walls. From there, Taira will chain to and from single-legs to trip takedowns that allow him to drag the fight into his world.
Nevertheless, Taira will still need to be mindful of his neck when committing to takedowns opposite a front-headlock threat like Royval.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Royval is an opportunistic submission threat who isn’t afraid to play in the proverbial dirt.
Whether he’s operating off his back or seeking out fight-ending submissions in scrambles, Royval is constantly looking to capitalize in the chaos. That said, Royval does have the propensity to allow for back exposure in said scrambles given his love for tactics like granby rolls.
Royval did show improved awareness for back exposure in his title attempt against the criminally disrespected Alexandre Pantoja, but the American still surrendered a ton of control time spamming unsuccessful submissions and strikes from the bottom.
I’ll be curious to see what getup options Royval will use this time around given that he’s facing another backpacking threat.
Taira may still be developing large parts of his game, but the 24-year-old’s back-taking abilities are potent beyond his years. Whether Taira is looking for rear-naked chokes or baiting escapes that lead to armlocks, the native of Japan will be extremely dangerous anytime he attaches himself to Royval.
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Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the Japanese fighter, listing Taira -290 and Royval +215 via FanDuel.
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira prediction, pick
Tatsuro Taira
Between the oddsmakers loving undefeated fighters to MMA gamblers’ borderline-creepy age obsession, seeing the younger Taira get steamed with support on the betting lines comes as no shock here.
Although I’m happy to finally see an Asian fighter getting love from the fanbase and promotion alike, I’d suggest tempering expectations to anyone mimicking the unwarranted glazing that Michael Bisping was doing to the Japanese prospect last time out (in a fight where he was technically down on the cards before winning by injury over the continually disrespected Alex Perez, by the way).
But gross celebrations over potentially career-altering injuries aside, Taira quietly showed a lot to like his last time out.
From his ability to play distance with interceptions in tow to his newfound collar ties and clinch connections, the foundation of Taira’s game is starting to resemble Islam Makhachev. And inside of the smaller octagon of the Apex, Taira’s game only becomes more potent.
Aside from being a fan of Royval’s style and his camp, I’m hoping that he can survive the early rounds and extend Taira so that we can see more of the 24-year-old as well. But between this fight being in the small cage to Royval’s propensity to get controlled by top grapplers, I have a feeling that “Raw Dawg” may end up having to rely more on deterrents like knees and front-choke threats than perhaps he’d like to.
Add in the fact that injury-style TKOs are always on the table when it comes to fighters like Royval or Sean O’Malley (as freak injuries historically seem to happen to long and lanky fighters who are large for the lower weight classes), and I can’t help but favor Taira in this spot.
I’ll officially pick Taira to find a submission by the end of Round 2.
Prediction: Taira inside the distance
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira start time, where to watch
As the main event in Las Vegas, Royval and Taira are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 9:45 p.m. ET. The event streams on ESPN+.
Will Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira determine the next flyweight title challenger? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”
The UFC flyweight division might figure out its next title challenger this Saturday.
Top contenders [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. At this moment, there’s no clear challenger for champion Alexandre Pantoja, thus opening up the doors for someone to make a statement and cement himself as the No. 1 contender in the division.
But how likely is that will be Royval or Taira? And who has the better shot?
MMA Junkie’s Brian Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host “Gorgeous” George breakdown the flyweight main event and highlight some of the other matchups taking place on the card.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
Brandon Royval says witnessing a fatal shooting before UFC 307 in Salt Lake City only further confirms feelings of being “a sh*t magnet.”
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] always seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that was the case again one week prior to his UFC Fight Night 244 main event.
Ahead of Saturday’s flyweight headliner against Tatsuro Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+), former title challenger Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) attended UFC 307 in Salt Lake City to help corner his good friend and teammate Alexander Hernandez, who defeated Austin Hubbard by unanimous decision in a short-notice affair.
Following his victory, Hernandez revealed to reporters backstage that his day had been traumatic. He was taking a fight-morning walk with his team and they encountered a dangerous situation in the form of a fatal shooting. According to a Salt Lake City Police Department report, the suspect, since arrested and identified as 49-year-old Farshad Hassan-Puori, allegedly shot and killed 30-year-old Gage Barrow.
Royval was part of the group with Hernandez when the incident unfolded, and according to Hernandez, it was Royval who actually ran toward the danger and “chased down the shooter,” but to no avail.
A week later, Royval said he’s not overly keen to relive the experience. However, he admits it was a lot to endure, and he’s particularly proud of Hernandez for being able to compartmentalize and still go into the octagon and win at UFC 307 that same day.
“I don’t really care to talk about it too much because someone died, but at the end of the day, there was a shooting that happened in Utah,” Royval told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “It happened pretty much right in front of us. I guess the only thing that matters at the end of the day is we’ve seen some crazy sh*t. Alex had locked in. Won his fight. Kudos to him on that, and it’s a lot to deal with first thing in the morning. It was like 11 a.m. My boy had to report a couple hours later and pretty much anything that could go wrong on that walk, did go wrong.”
Considering he is a professional fighter, Royval isn’t exactly in the business of self-preservation. He said danger and drama seem to be routine occurrences in his life, and that’s the only explanation he could give about deciding to run toward the shooter and crime scene rather than flee for safety.
“I can’t really speak to anybody or speak to anybody else, but I felt like I’ve found myself in a lot of sh*tty situations, and I’ve been around a lot of sh*t that happens,” Royval said. “I feel like I’m a little bit of a sh*t magnet. So I’m not really unfamiliar with some weird sh*t like that. But not necessarily a shooting like that, but I did CPR like a week before on another dude in a car accident. So it’s been a crazy month. I would stay as far away from me as possible to be completely honest. It’s been a crazy month. I’ve been threatened by crackheads, done CPR, been in a car accident, and the f*cking shooting and seeing someone die. Anyways. Probably stay away from me this week.”
One person who won’t be able to stay away from Royval all week is Taira, because they will be locked in the octagon for five scheduled rounds with significant title stakes in the 125-pound division. Royval is ready for it and prepared for a grueling, brutal battle.
“When it’s fight time, we’re actually going to go for it,” Royval said. “You’re going to see two killers try to kill.”
Tatsuro Taira will look to cement himself as the No. 1 flyweight contender at UFC Fight Night 244.
[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] will look to cement himself as No. 1 contender at UFC Fight Night 244.
Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) takes on former title challenger [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the Oct. 12 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Another pivotal flyweight clash between former champion Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi headlines UFC Fight Night 246 on Nov. 2. But with Steve Erceg receiving the most recent title shot against champion Alexandre Pantoja, Taira knows there’s no particular direction when it comes to the flyweight division.
He plans on making himself undeniable against Royval.
“Honestly, I was like, why? To be honest, when I saw that match (Pantoja vs. Erceg), I was a little surprised,” Taira told MMA Junkie Radio through an interpreter. “But it’s true. In the flyweight division in the UFC, there’s no clear contender. So, I just want to be that very clear contender. … I hope they will give me a title match after this.”
Tairia, who’s finished four of his past five fights, is confident that he can be the one to take out Pantoja, who’s outlasted his past three opponents in five-round battles.
“Looking at that title fight hopefully as a contender, I think Pantoja’s fights have all been five rounds,” Taira said. “It’s been all tough rounds, tough fights. But I think honestly, me, I should be able to finish him in three rounds.”
A huge UFC flyweight contender fight between Tatsuro Taira and Brandon Royval is set for five rounds.
A big flyweight fight is getting the five-round main event treatment.
At the UFC Fight Night card Oct. 12, top contenders [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] will collide in a headlining scrap at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. X user @realkevink first reported the news.
Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is riding high off an upset victory over Brandon Moreno in February. Royval took the main event bout on short notice and defeated Moreno, a former champion, in his native Mexico.
A fast rising star, Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) steps into his second promotional main event. The 24-year-old Japanese phenom has finished four of his six UFC appearances to date, including his most recent bout vs. Alex Perez in June.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Oct. 12 includes:
Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns
Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha
Cory McKenna vs. Polyana Viana
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night on Oct. 12.
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.
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 https://t.co/lVLT9agNa9
“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.”
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.
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.
