Brandon Royval wants backup fighter status for UFC 290 flyweight title fight
Flyweight contender Brandon Royval wants backup fighter status for the upcoming UFC 290 flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja.
Royval knocked out Matheus Nicolau in the first round of his UFC Kansas City fight this past weekend. Royval is now 5-2 overall in the UFC with four of his wins coming by stoppage. He has won his last three fights and is quickly rising up the 125lbs division.
Following UFC Kansas City, Royval told the media he wants to be the backup for the upcoming flyweight title fight this summer. He said he’s already spoken to UFC president Dana White, who confirmed the fight with Nicolau was a title eliminator. Since Royval finished him with flying colors, he hopes that it will get him the backup fighter position.
“Yeah, I’m going to be the backup for July. I think that’s already been discussed. Dana White said it himself. He said this is a title eliminator. They want statements to be made. I told Mick Maynard, I said, ‘Sign Matheus Nicolau, and I’ll put him away. I’ll make it an exciting fight. There’s no way this is going to be a boring fight. I promise you, and I’ll put him away.’ That’s exactly what I did. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it, but that’s what I was saying,” Royval said (via MMAjunkie).
Royval’s two UFC losses actually came against Moreno and Pantoja, so both fights would be a rematch if he gets them. The odds are that both fighters end up making it to the fight and actually scrapping inside the cage. But in the case that either of those fighters is forced to withdraw from the match, then Royval stepping in for the backup role makes sense.
Do you think Brandon Royval is a future UFC flyweight champion?
