Brandon Royval eked out a victory over Tatsuro Taira on Saturday in what could be a dark-horse candidate for Fight of the Year.
Royval defeated Taira via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Royval and Taira were ranked Nos. 1 and 5, respectively, in the flyweight division coming in. Taira, a 24-year-old prospect from Japan, suffered his first career defeat.
Royval cut an energetic promo in the Octagon after the victory, calling for the winner of the UFC 310 title bout between flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.
"I have a win over everybody in the top five," Royval said. "I get that f-----g title shot next. ... I'll be the backup. Kai Asakura, I'm going to Japan, I'm taking that shit. Pantoja wins it, I'm going to Brazil, and I'm taking that shit. Title shot next, that's the only f-----g discussion. Who the f--k else?"
The fight between Royval and Taira was very competitive and back-and-forth. Royval controlled the action in the stand-up department, while Taira dominated the fight on the ground, creating several shifts in momentum and an entertaining matchup overall.
But Royval's success on the feet - he outlanded Taira by a whopping 124-42 in significant strikes - ultimately gave him the slight edge in the judges' eyes.
Royval admitted he was expecting a much easier fight.
"I thought I was gonna take him to school, I'm gonna be honest," Royval said. "I thought that wasn't gonna be a close fight. I thought I was gonna be out here (in the) first round."
Royval was full of praise for Taira, saying he believes the young fighter will become a champion.
"I swear to God, I'll do anything to help him become that one day," Royval said.
Royval found his groove early in Round 1, landing hard punches and displaying great movement. It quickly became clear that Royval was a step above Taira as a striker.
However, Taira responded well in the second round by taking Royval to the ground and keeping him there for the next several minutes. Taira transitioned between Royval's back and full mount, demonstrating terrific control and an impressive level of calmness.
Taira went for another takedown at the start of the third, but Royval defended it this time and landed knees and elbows in the clinch. Royval separated from Taira and connected with several punches. He hurt Taira with a big left hand and forced him to retreat. But Taira kept himself in the fight by completing a desperation takedown attempt. Royval got back up and continued to pursue the TKO finish, walking down a tired and wobbly Taira.
Moments later, Taira got back on top of Royval and took his back. Taira attempted a rear-naked choke and almost sunk in the submission before time expired.
Taira drowned Royval on the mat in the fourth, taking his back less than a minute in and holding him there until the end of the round. The fight was tied on two judges' scorecards, setting up a winner-takes-all fifth round.
Royval prevailed in the final stanza, picking Taira apart on the feet and then finishing the fight with a rear-naked choke attempt of his own.
With the victory, Royval has won two straight since challenging Pantoja for the title at UFC 296 last December. He lost that fight via decision but bounced back with a huge victory over former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City in February, moving up to No. 1 in the division. Royval is 5-1 in his last six Octagon outings.
Taira fell to 16-1 as a pro and 6-1 in the UFC. The Japanese fighter has been considered one of the top prospects at 125 pounds since his UFC debut in 2022. Taira broke into the top five with a stoppage win over Alex Perez earlier this year.
