MMA Knockout

Brandon Royval Upsets Tatsuro Taira in Sensational UFC Main Event

"Raw Dawg" hasd to dig deep in order to hand Taira the first loss of his career.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

Following UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, the UFC returned to the Apex in Las Vegas for a UFC Fight Night card headlined by a flyweight title eliminator between Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira.

Royval Shatters Taira's Unbeaten Record

Arguably the hottest prospect on the UFC roster heading into his second main event, Taira joined the promotion in 2022 and quickly put himself within range of a title shot by adding six wins to his perfect professional record.

UFC Fight Night Live Results & Highlights – Royval vs. Taira

The 24-year-old passed his first major test in June when he headlined a UFC event for the first time and defeated Alex Perez, which set him up for a huge opportunity against the #1-ranked Royval in Las Vegas.

"Raw Dawg" came up short in a flyweight title bout with Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 but rebounded with a split decision against former champion Brandon Moreno in February, and after entering the Taira matchup as a sizeable underdog Royval found considerable success with his striking in the opening round.

The second round saw Taira largely dominant his opponent on the mat before Royval took the momentum back in the third frame, although that round did end with "Raw Dawg" fighting off a rear naked choke attempt after he appeared close to finishing the fight with strikes.

Taira rallied to control the action on the ground once again in the fourth, and with the fight seemingly tied two rounds to two heading into the final frame both men absolutely emptied their gas tanks before Royval took a hard-earned split decision.

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The win likely sets Royval up for a second crack at the flyweight belt, which Pantoja will try to defend for a third time when he faces Kai Asakura in the recently-announced co-main event for UFC 310.

The wild flyweight main event closed out a UFC Vegas 98 main card that also featured decision wins from Daniel Rodriguez, Chidi Njokuani, and Jun Yong Park, as well as a violent TKO victory from Grant Dawson.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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