Fight Coverage
Coach Conversation | Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval 2
Elite MMA Coaches Break Down The Flyweight Title Bout On The UFC 296 Co-Main Event
Ahead of every championship fight, UFC staff writer E. Spencer Kyte will sit down with the sharpest coaching minds in the sport to break down the action and provide UFC fans with insights into each championship pairing from the men that spend their days getting these elite athletes prepared to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.
For the UFC 296 flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, Kyte sat down with New England Cartel head coach Tyson Chartier to break down the fight across four key points of interest.
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Best Trait of Each Fighter
Kyte: At a time in the sport where everyone is pretty solid everywhere, generally speaking, what is the one thing that each of these competitors do better than anyone else? What is the one element to their game that stands out the most?
Chartier: For Pantoja, you’ve gotta say it’s his jiu jitsu, and with Royval, it’s the same thing — his jiu jitsu — but with him, it’s dynamic jiu jitsu; it’s flashy and creative, very unorthodox. He’s not a guy you wanna roll with.
I look at Pantoja and it’s a lot more straightforward, but it’s high level. You look at Royval and it’s like, “You can’t get into a scramble with this guy because he’s gonna catch something from anywhere.”
So I think the best trait of both of them is their jiu jitsu.
Kyte: In a situation like that where it’s shared strengths and you’re looking at it as a coach, how are you approaching that? Obviously, you wanna play to your strengths, but “that other guy is pretty good here, too.”
I get what you mean 100 percent about Royval — if I’m a jiu jitsu guy, I don’t want to roll with him because he’s not predictable, he’s funky, he catches stuff at weird angles, he’s always attacking, but I also don’t want to get away from the thing that I’m best at.
Chartier: I look at it as in what part of the sandbox do you think you have a great advantage?
If it’s two jiu jitsu guys going against each other and you think your jiu jitsu is better, then you can still play to your strength. If you think, “I know my jiu jitsu is good, but it doesn’t match up good with his, but I feel like I hit harder and have better footwork than this kid,” you might take the calculated risk and keep it standing.
It’s not your strength, but it’s also not his, so now you’re flipping the script and trying to make it more of a kickboxing match, where you think you have the advantage. So I think you have to find that area where you have the advantage, and I think it’s why you see people get into fights and they just say, “All right, I’m gonna hold you against the fence and be boring” because they know they can do it, and you’re not going to be great at getting off there, and you’re not playing into any of their strengths.
It’s thinking tactically about “what’s the safest place for me in this fight where I’m still winning?”
Kyte: Rather than this might be my area of expertise and while I’m a 9, he’s an 8.5 and it could get dicey.
Chartier: At least you’re not playing to his strength, and you’re fighting the fight on your terms. You’re fighting the fight you prepared for in camp and you’re avoiding their sharpest weapons.
Path to Victory for Each Fighter
Kyte: Everyone would love a 10-second knockout or a quick submission, but that’s not often how these things go, especially not at the championship level. Instead, it’s usually the competitor that has crafted the better game plan and did the better job of executing things inside the Octagon that comes away with their hand raised and the gold around their waist.
So, how does either man get it done on Saturday night?
UFC 296 Full Fight Card Preview
Chartier: I think in this fight — Marc Montoya is a smart coach — so I’m thinking Royval is probably looking to keep it on the feet and use his dynamic striking to try to hurt him, but be opportunistic with his jiu jitsu.
And Pantoja is going to be looking to close the distance, nullify the athleticism, get a hold of him, get on the back, and do it again. I think that is probably the two ways these sides are looking at this fight.
Kyte: Yeah, for Pantoja, you want to keep it fundamental, be smart, make the right choice and don’t get drawn into a brawl and chaos, and for Royval, it’s “let’s go out here and create an absolute s*** show!”
Chartier: Yeah (laughs) basically.
X Factor
Kyte: If there were one thing that was going to significantly impact how this fight plays out — that swings it in one direction or the other — what would it be?
Chartier: I think it’s going to be whose wrestling is better on fight night, offensively and defensively.
If one of these guys ends up wanting to take it to the ground, are they going to be able to? Or is the other guy going to welcome going to the ground? Are they going to engage in the wrestling or are they going to allow it?
It’s going to be interesting to see what tactics each side takes with wrestling — are they gonna be on offense? Are they gonna engage in offensive wrestling or are they really gonna stress defensive wrestling because they don’t care if they get taken down? It’ll be interesting to see are they okay getting taken down because “you’re in my world now.”
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Pantoja might think, “I choked you out last time; sure, take me down” or does he resist the wrestling and try to keep it on the feet? It’ll be interesting to see what both sides do with the wrestling, both offensively and defensively.
One Coaching Curiosity
Kyte: Coaches see the sport differently and look at the sport differently than anyone else, picking up on different things and paying attention to movements, habits, or intangible pieces that others might not notice, but that could have a significant impact on the action inside the Octagon.
Every matchup offers its own unique collection of elements that might pique a coach’s interest and get them paying a little closer attention to once the fight gets underway.
Brandon Royval Fighter Trailer | UFC 296
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Brandon Royval Fighter Trailer | UFC 296
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So what is that one thing in this matchup?
Chartier: I’m interested to see — you see a lot of these grapplers that get a really nice knockout, and then it gets them away from where they were at, so I’m interested to see if Royval now thinks he’s a sniper?
Is he now like, “I don’t need to wrestle; I’ll just knock these bastards out!”
FREE FIGHT: Royval vs Schnell
I’m interested to see if he’s tempted to go for another highlight. It’s an addicting thing in MMA for these grapplers to get that really nice highlight knockout because they get hungry to go for it again, so I’m interested to see if it affects the way he reacts in certain situations.
Kyte: Is he looking for those knees a little more? Is he trying to bait Pantoja into things because he’s looking for that big opportunity?
Alexandre Pantoja's Five Favorite Fights | UFC 296
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Alexandre Pantoja's Five Favorite Fights | UFC 296
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Chartier: I always call it “The Josh Koscheck Effect” because…
Kyte: 100 percent! He’s the first guy that comes to mind.
Chartier: They get that first knockout and they forget that that know how to wrestle because “I just knock guys out now.”
From a fighter mentality standpoint, it’s way easier on your body and from an effort standpoint to just go for a knockout — it’s not as grueling, it doesn’t take grit, it doesn’t take a takedown where you’re exposing yourself, maybe you get submitted yourself or run into elbows.
Colby Covington Previews His UFC 296 Main Event
You just throw big on the feet and the fight is over, versus the path you have to go to in order to get a TKO on the ground or a submission, which is way harder, and I think the grinders like Koscheck, once they get that taste of the other side, it’s like “that was way easier and the fans love me for it.”
It’s an addicting thing that they kind of chase after sometimes, so I’m really interested to see if Royval does think “I’m a knockout artist now.”
UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!