Brandon Royval is gearing up for what he calls a personal showdown when he meets Lone’er Kavanagh on the main card of UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend.
Royval, a former UFC flyweight title challenger, is coming off back-to-back losses for the second time in his professional career and believes this matchup carries high stakes for his place in the division.
“I could see it coming,” Royval said of the booking, which followed Kavanagh’s win over former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City. “As soon as that fight was over, I was sure they were going to present it to me. I knew we were fighting literally the next day after his win over Moreno, so yeah, they made that fight quick.”
Royval also made it clear he sees Kavanagh as a direct threat to his long-held position near the top of the rankings. “I’ve always been this way, but this is personal,” he said. “This is someone trying to take my spot. I’ve been in the Top 5 in this division for like four to five years — I don’t know, but most of my UFC career I’ve been in the Top 5 — and I take it personally that they are trying to push me out. It’s my job to make a statement and stay in there.”
“They made this fight because it’s exciting, and that is what is going to happen — there’s a reason they booked this fight so far out and right after he won,” Royval added, calling it “an exciting fight to make” and an opportunity “to fill my pocket full of cash, make a statement, and put on another high-level, exciting fight.”
