UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval renew hostilities

The fallout is still being felt from last weekend’s epic UFC 298 pay-per-view. But MMA rarely gives you a moment to stand still and this Saturday is no different. UFC Fight Night 237 serves up a fine fight card emanating from Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico.

Hometown hero Brandon Moreno headlines the card, taking on forename brethren Brandon Royval at flyweight. ‘The Assassin Baby’ fights for the first time since losing the UFC flyweight championship to Alexandre Pantoja last July.

It’s a familiar sting for the other Brandon too. Royval is also coming off a loss to Pantoja for the belt, having challenged ‘The Cannibal’ unsuccessfully in his first title defence. This chain of events shows not only the primacy of Pantoja but also the high level Moreno and Royval are operating at. 

Each man took Pantoja the distance, with Moreno losing on a split decision and Royval via a unanimous nod. There is mileage in a rebuild here and whoever emerges from this battle of first and third in the rankings can surely expect a title shot in the near future. 

However, future title aspirations may be complicated for each man by their further history with Pantoja. ‘The Cannibal’ has actually beaten both men twice. Before the UFC title was involved, Pantoja beat Moreno by unanimous decision in 2018 and stopped Royval in two rounds back in 2021.

Saturday’s combatants have met before too. Moreno knocked Royval out with a single second remaining in the first round of their 2020 meeting. It was an uncommon result for ‘The Assassin Baby’, who usually secures his finishes on the ground. Moreno has 11 submission wins to five knockouts and five decisions. Royval had never been knocked out and hasn’t been since. Such an aberration warrants a rematch in itself.

Both men have been on an interesting trajectory since their previous meeting. Moreno has fought six times, winning, losing and regaining the flyweight belt before losing it to Pantoja. Four of his six bouts have come in a classic rivalry with Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno won the war, going 2-1-1 in the series and emerging as the undisputed flyweight kingpin. Sandwiched between fights three and four was a Fight of the Night TKO win over Kai Kara-France.

Royval hit a rich vein of form after his back-to-back defeats to Moreno and Pantoja. Victories over Rogerio Bontorin, Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau earned him a title shot, as well as Fight and Performance of the Night honours. The Denver native fell short of the title but he put up a greater effort than in his first fight with Pantoja.

One man can use this fight to return to that sort of form. The victor will watch Pantoja with interest, particularly if the champion faces number two challenger Amir Albazi in the interim. Whoever emerges on Saturday will come out of the fight cradling a strong ranking and plenty of experience at championship level. If the action is up to scratch and Pantoja is otherwise engaged, perhaps we might even get a trilogy?