Brandon Royval

Brandon Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, Royval has also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. As of February 27, 2024, he is #1 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.

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 an 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, winning 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 UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns 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 faced Matt Schnell on May 7, 2022 at UFC 274. He won the back-and-forth fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round. The fight also won both men the Fight of the Night bonus award.

Royval was scheduled to face Askar Askarov on October 15, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 212. However the bout was cancelled the day before the event due to weight management issues.

Royval was set to face Amir Albazi at UFC Fight Night 216 on December 17, 2022. However, Royval pulled out of the bout in late November due to a broken wrist.

Royval faced Matheus Nicolau on April 15, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 44. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Royval had a rematch with Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC Flyweight Championship title on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Royval faced Brandon Moreno in a rematch, replacing Amir Albazi, at UFC Fight Night 237 on February 24, 2024. He won the fight via split decision.

Personal life
Royval grew up in a Mexican family. After the win against Kai Kara-France, Royval left his full-time job in the juvenile justice system. He also works as the jiu-jitsu instructor at Factory X.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Tim Elliott, Kai Kara-France, and Matt Schnell
 * Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Matheus Nicolau
 * Most significant strikes attempted in a UFC Flyweight bout (510) (vs. Brandon Moreno 2)
 * Most total strikes landed in a UFC Flyweight bout (281) (vs. Brandon Moreno 2)
 * Most total strikes attempted in a UFC Flyweight bout (556) (vs. Brandon Moreno 2)
 * Second most total strikes attempted in a UFC Flyweight bout (390) (vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2)
 * Most total head strikes landed in a UFC Flyweight bout (248) (vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2)
 *  Legacy Fighting Alliance 
 * Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion (One time)