Brandon Royval - The MMA Raw Dawg

Brandon Royval is an American elite BJJ black belt under Mario Correa and an exceptional MMA fighter. He is one of the top fighters in the UFC flyweight division. Royval has won multiple titles, such as Performance of the Night, Fight of the Night, and Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. In 2024, Royval was ranked 3rd in the UFC Flyweight rankings. He also instructs jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts in Factory X Muay Thai.

Brandon Royval was born on August 16, 1992, in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was born into a decent, respected family worshiping the Hispanic religion. His parents always cared for and supported him. Growing up, Royval learned how to defend himself against his older brother, Darian, who was known around the neighborhood for his fighting ability. His family was a boxing fan, and soon Royval fell in love with the sport. Royval decided to join jiu-jitsu. At 15, he was already training BJJ and Muay Thai under Mario Correa at the Factory X Muay Thai Academy. His skills and potential promoted him to BJJ black belt under Mario Correa.

In 2011, at 18, he had his first amateur grappling fight. After an impressive first-round striking performance, Royval submitted his first opponent, Justin Hernandez, one minute into the second round at the Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz Competition. Within a minute and a half of the first round, his second opponent, Justin Ohara, succumbed via submission. He had a 5-0 record when his amateur career ended.

Royval’s professional MMA career started in 2012 when he was 20 years old; he had his debut fight with Sammy Rind and won the match. After a successful beginning, Royval lost to an American fighter, Ben Vam Baur. After his fight with Ben, he said:

Royval had his third fight with Joey Welch. He won the match with a triangle choke but got injured and had to go through a shoulder injury. In one of his interviews, he said:

In 2016, Royval returned in a fighting bout, showing the world that he is a warrior and will not compromise his boxing passion over anything. From 2016-2019, Royval competed against many top wrestlers in the Legacy Fighting Alliance Championships Series, maintaining a record of 8-3, winning the LFA title.

After maintaining an exceptional fighting record, Royval debuted in UFC on May 30, 2020. In the second round, he won his first fight against Tim Elliott via arm triangle choke, winning the Fight of the Night title. In September 2020, Royval fought with Kai-Kara France, won via guillotine choke, and again secured the Fight of the Night title. In his interview, he said:

Royval had a boxing match against Brandon Moreno, the flyweight champion, in November 2020. He lost the fight via TKO and dislocated his shoulders. In August 2021, after spending eight months in rehabilitation, he had a faceoff against Alexandre Pantoja, who poked Royval’s eyes. Unfortunately, Royval lost the fight via RNC. During one of his interviews, he shared how he felt after losing to Mareno:

After two major losses, Royval won three consecutive fights against Rogério Bontorin, Matt Schnell, and Matheus Nicolau, winning titles as the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night.

On October 15, 2022, Royval was scheduled to fight against Askar Askarov at UFC Fight Night 212. However, the bout was canceled the day before due to weight management issues.On December 16, 2023, Royval got a chance to compete against Alexandre Pantoja again. He unfortunately lost via decision, with Pantoja winning the title of UFC Flyweight Champion.

Currently, Brandon Royval is a full-time jiu-jitsu coach at Factory X Muay Thai. UFC has confirmed that on February 24, 2024, Brandon Royval will face off with Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237. In his interview, he said that he would continue his boxing career.

In the 2020 UFC 255, an electrifying 3x5-minute round match was held between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval. The fight began aggressively, and both fighters started punching each other. Moreno mounted Royval, but Royval escaped. Once again, Moreno did a spinning elbow, took Royval to the ground, grabbed him tightly with full force, and started punching his face, getting Royval injured. The referee stopped Moreno, and he unfortunately won the grappling fight by TKO in the first round.

In the 2023 UFC Fight Night, a breathtaking grappling fight occurred between Brandon Royval and Matheus Nicolau. Royval started punching and kicking his opponent. Royval kicked Nocolau’s chin with his knees, and as he fell, Royval began punching him with arms on his opponent’s chest and won the match. He was awarded the UFC Performance of the Night after this incredible bout.

In the 2021 UFC 296, the world’s best flyweight MMA fighters, Brandon Royval and Alexandre Pantoja, held an exciting grappling match. The match consists of 5 rounds, each round lasting 5 minutes. The wrestling fight began with punching by both fighters. Pantoja grabbed his opponent from the back and swept him onto the floor. Royval tried to escape but was tightly trapped under Pantoja.

Pantoja goes for a leg ankle lock followed by a heel hook and knee bar, putting maximum pressure on his opponent. Fortunately, Royval released himself and started kicking and punching Pantoja. The fight becomes wild and crazy, both fighters punching and kicking aggressively. Pantoja poked Royval’s eyes. In the second round, Pantoja performed a rare naked choke, and it was so tight that Royval couldn’t bear it and tapped on the floor to stop the fight. The fight ended in 1 minute and 46 seconds of the second round.

UFC 253: Royval vs. Kara-France (Full Fight Highlights)

Full Fight | Brandon Royval vs Danny Mainus | WSOF 29, 2016

UFC FIGHT NIGHT Brandon Royval vs Rogerio Bontorin Full

LFA 97: Brandon Royval vs Nate Williams

Photo Credit: @broyval