Brandon Royval
Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 6, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, Royval has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance where he was the Flyweight Champion. As of March 29, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC flyweight rankings. Background. Born and raised in Denver, Brandon was already training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai at the age of 15. Royval has an older brother, Darian. Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Royval took his first amateur bout  at the age of 18, racking up a 5–0 record. Starting his professional career in 2012, Royval compiled a 8–3 record fighting mostly for Legacy Fighting Alliance, eventually culminating in a shot for the interim LFA Flyweight Championship against Casey Kenney, which he lost by unanimous decision. Brandon Royval next faced UFC vet, Joby Sanchez at LFA 65 on May 3, 2019, losing the bout via submission due to an armbar in the first round. Royval was going to face Jared Scoggins for the vacant LFA flyweight title on November 22, 2019 until Scoggins pulled out of the fight. Nate  Williams stepped up as a replacement and Royval won the LFA Flyweight title via first round armbar. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Brandon made his UFC debut on May 30, 2020 at against Tim Elliott. He won the fight via submission in the second round. This fight earned Royval a "Fight of the Night" award. Royval faced Kai Kara-France on September 27, 2020 at UFC 253. After both fighters being knocked down in the first round, Royval won the fight via submission in the second round. This fight earned him the "Fight of the Night" award. Royval was a replacement for  Alex Perez against Brandon Moreno on November 21, 2020 at UFC 255. He lost the fight via technical knockout on round one. Royval faced Alexandre Pantoja on August 21, 2021 UFC on ESPN 29. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round two. Royval faced Rogério Bontorin on January 15, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 32. He won the fight via split decision. Royval is scheduled to face Matt Schnell on May 7, 2022 at UFC 274. Personal life. After the win against Kai Kara-France, Royval quit his full-time job in the juvenile justice system. He  also works as the jiu-jitsu instructor at Factory X.