UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval named his next opponent following his stunning victory on the UFC 329 main card.
Royval submitted top flyweight prospect Lone’er Kavanagh via third-round submission in what was the Fight of the Night at UFC 329. It was an incredible performance by Royval, who maintains his spot as one of the top five flyweights in the sport.
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It also should put him in line for another big fight his next time out, and he already has a name in mind.
Brandon Royval Calls Out Asu Almabayev
Speaking to the media following UFC 329, the No. 4-ranked Royval called out Asu Almabayev, who is the No. 6-ranked flyweight in the Meta UFC Rankings.
“Asu Almabayev, let’s go, baby. You’re the best, you’re awesome. I just want a shot at you because you’re great,” Royval said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Almabayev has won his last three fights in a row and is 7-1 overall in the UFC, with his only loss coming against Manel Kape, who is also Royval’s last loss, so on paper, this is a fight that makes a ton of sense for both men.
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Royval said that he just wants to stay active and keep taking fights after having only fought once so far this year, after having fought at least twice a year the last four years.
“I just want to stay busy, but I’m also a title contender. 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 said.
Brandon Royval Reflects on Lone’er Kavanagh Fight
Reporters also asked Royval to reflect on his fight with Kavanagh, which had a ton of ups and downs in it.
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In the first round of the fight, Royval controlled the striking on the feet as he maintained his distance and picked apart Kavanagh on the feet. But in the second round, Kavanagh landed a huge punch that knocked Royval down and nearly finished him with strikes. But Royval survived and took the fight to the third round, where he is known for taking the fight into deep waters, as he has some of the best cardio at 125 lbs.
“I’m going to have to look over it because I don’t really remember much of it. 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,” Royval said.
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