LAS VEGAS – Brandon Royval already has his next target in sight.
Royval (18-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC), a veteran contender at 125 pounds, is looking to throw down with Asu Almabayev following his wild win over Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC 329. After rocking and knocking each other down in a wild 10 minutes, Royval was able to get the back of Kavanagh to secure the submission win. Once he got his hand raised, Royval issued his callout.
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“Asu Alambayev, let’s go, baby,” Royval said at the T-Mobile Arena. “You’re the best, you’re awesome. I just want a shot at you because you’re great.”
Speaking to reporters backstage, Royval explained that his callout was with the objective of staying active and making another run at the UFC flyweight title.
“I just want to stay busy, but I’m also a title contender,” Royval said. “I’m a title-worthy fighter, so I’m glad I could finally show it. I’m glad I could finally get a finish. It’s been a minute since I got a finish, and before I got to the UFC, I was 100 percent finish rate.”
Royval was hoping to get a quick turnaround for August, but due to the nature of the fight, health might not permit a quick return. Royval would at least hope to get a fight before October, before his baby is due.
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As far as the fight, Royval couldn’t give much of an analysis. It was one big, fun blur.
“I’m going to have to look over it because I don’t really remember much of it,” Royval said. “I thought the first round was playing out beautifully. I thought I won, and I thought I was fighting a high-level fight. I got a takedown, which I don’t do often, and I felt like I was beating him up on the feet. My jab looked really good. The second round, I don’t really know exactly what went wrong, but I still had fun in that fight. And then the third round, I don’t even know. I’m going to have to look it over, but I would say it has to be up there. It has to be in the top five, top three for sure.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Brandon Royval calls out Asu Alambayev after UFC 329 win
