Brandon Royval Knows How Good He Is Now

Five years and 10 more trips to the Octagon later, Royval appears to have gotten a lot out of his time with the mixed martial arts leader. Now 33, Royval has spent the better part of the last four years in the Top 10 at 125 pounds, earning six performance bonuses, challenging for the undisputed title and collecting a 7-4 record in the Octagon. 

The journey is all the more impressive when considering Royval’s strength of schedule. Each of his four losses came to champions: Brandon Moreno, Alexandre Pantoja (twice) and Joshua Van. The loss to Moreno came only when Royval’s shoulder dislocated in the first round, but Royval recalls a moment against “The Assassin Baby” as the turning point in feeling like he belonged with the best in the world. 

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“He threw a combination and missed bad, and I was like, ‘Oh, that was pretty sloppy from the No. 1 contender,’” Royval said. “I remember thinking in my head, like, ‘I really can just win this.’”

Although Royval wouldn’t get his hand raised that night, he started to really settle into life as one of the best flyweights on the planet. As he heads into his second career main event against Manel Kape, Royval can’t help but appreciate the career he's carved out for himself as a mainstay in the division’s elite.

“I didn't think I was going to be in the Top 5 ever,” Royval said. “I thought that I was gonna get in the UFC and maybe have a couple fights, get a cool t-shirt and be on my way out... It took me a really long time to believe in myself. I'll say that. And, the fact that I'm here, and I've been here for so long, it's been really fu***ing cool.”

In a manner similar to former champion Pantoja, Royval has essentially fought Top 10 opponents each time he made his way to the Octagon, boasting wins over Kai Kara-France, Moreno (in a main event rematch) and current top contender Tatsuro Taira. The win over Taira aged particularly well as the Japanese youngster just scored a TKO win over Moreno at UFC 323. With Pantoja out due to injury for the time-being, Taira walked away from T-Mobile Arena with a spot in the inner-circle for a title shot. Should Royval get his hand raised on December 13, he could parlay that result with his win over Taira and history with the current champion Van into a title shot early in 2026. 

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The small hiccup in that scenario is that his history with Van is, ultimately, a decision loss at UFC 317. Royval was originally scheduled to face Kape, and when Kape pulled out due to injury, in stepped Van weeks off a win over Bruno Silva. 

Rather than leaning on his experience and grappling advantages, Royval stood toe-to-toe with Van and delivered the clubhouse leader for Fight of the Year, but a late shot from Van likely swung the scorecards in the Houston-based fighter’s favor.

When looking at his matchup with Kape, one could say Royval has a similar advantage when it comes to the caliber of opponents he has fought and defeated, which begs the question: what has Royval learned from all his high-level experience?

“I haven't, bro,” Royval said with a laugh. “That's the answer is I haven't [learned]. I think that's like a little bit of my corner’s job. I keep telling them that I just like to reel me back in. I'm just like, ‘OK, be smart, tactical, and there's moments and times be like a fun fighter.’ I think I can out-technique everybody. I just choose to be in fistfights and, part of that, like a little bit of mentality got me [here], but it's also what got me my last loss.”

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Reflecting on 2025, Royval said the year provided “a lot to learn,” but a win over Kape essentially keeps him deeply in the championship mix. Kape, a former Rizin standout, has long been considered talented enough to fight for and win UFC gold. After a slow start in the Octagon, “Starboy” is in the form of his life having won six of his last seven fights, four coming via knockout. 

Unlike Royval, however, Kape only has one former UFC champion on his record, a loss to Pantoja in his UFC debut in February 2021. Whether the difference in competition and in 5-round fights means something in favor of Royval differs for each fighter, but Royval does know he has the ability to make December 13 a miserable night for his opponent.

“I doubt in any world, man, Kape trains harder than me, works harder than me,” Royval said. “I'm going to make that fool work. [He’s] going to have to work the first round, second round, and if you make it to third, fourth and fifth, you're going to be drowned. That’s always kind of been my goal with fighting Kape is just, I'm going to drag him down a dark alley for a little bit, and then then I'll rob him. I'm not going to just go straight right off the bat. I'm going to have to drag him to hell with me a little bit, and that's kind of my career anyways.”

It wasn’t long ago Royval was the fresh face hoping to stick around for a couple fights and walking around the fighter hotel startstruck like when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua walked past him while Royval gave an interview. Now, Royval is that veteran with championship experience. He’s the one offering to help Taira when Taira visits Denver, and Royval will happily root for the Okinawa-born star should he fight for gold eventually.

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But Royval would like to slide into that position first. He is older, anyway, and his track record speaks for itself. In UFC’s final event of 2025, “Raw Dawg” has a simple message in mind.

“They're going to say, ‘Oh shit. We forgot again. We forgot what the f***’s up,'" he said. “I feel like every time I'm getting shit on or like everybody thinks I'm gonna lose and it's like, I have 11 fights in the UFC, 10 of them, [and] I've been an underdog [every time] and one time I've been a favorite. That’s crazy. F*** you guys. Whatever.”