Royval gives first defeat to Taira in tight flyweight match

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval He handed over one of the most talented prospects in his division on Saturday Tatsuro Taira His first professional defeat via split decision.

Royval (17-7) defeated Taira (16-1) in a back-and-forth flyweight contest in the main event of UFC Fight Night inside the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. Royval hurt Taira on the legs several times but found himself in bad position several times on the floor. Two of the three judges scored the fight in the 125 pound division 48–47 in favor of Royval, while the third scored it 48–47 in favor of Taira.

Shortly thereafter, the 32-year-old Royval praised his opponent’s skills and referred to him as a future champion, before demanding a title shot of his own.

“I thought I’d take him to school,” Royval said. “I thought I’d knock him out in the first round. Taira, if you ever need anything, I’m here for you. You’re going to be a champion someday. I’ll be there for you, brother. ” ..I have defeated everyone in the top 5. I have to get the next title.”

It was basically a striker vs. grappler story in the main event as Taira had a lot of success on the ground but was struggling on his feet. Royval particularly aroused the Japanese potential with punches to the legs in the third round, but Taira responded with a takedown and rear-naked choke attempt later in the round.

According to UFC Stats, Royval outlanded Taira in strikes 165–73, but Taira came out on top with more than 12 minutes of control time. In the fifth round, Royval’s experience proved vital as he was able to reverse an early takedown by Taira and dominate the final five minutes. That reversal and controlling time ultimately gave him the victory in a very close contest.

24 year old Taira has a lot of time to recover from this setback. He was heavily favored to win but at 24, he is one of the youngest contenders in the division. Denver’s Royval has improved to 5-1 in their last six meetings. His last appearance before Saturday was a split decision victory against the former champion Brandon Moreno,

defending champion alexandre pantoja Determined to defend his belt against kai asakura At UFC 310 in December.