Royval and Taira served up a crazy flyweight clash in a fight that both men saw as a potential springboard to a title shot. And, after a breathless 25 minutes that saw both men empty the tank in a bid to claim the victory, it was Royval who eked out the win via split decision.
The judges all saw the fight three rounds to two, with one judge scoring it 48-47 to Taira, while the other two saw it 48-47 to Royval, who claimed the 17th win of his career and handed Taira the first loss of his career.
After the fight, Royval admitted that he didn’t expect Taira to give him a much closer fight than he anticipated, and heaped praise on the young contender as he stated that Taira would become flyweight champion one day.
“I thought I was going to take him to school, I’m gonna be honest,” he said.
“I thought that wasn’t even gonna be a close fight. I thought I was going to be out of here in the first round.
“Taira, you’re the f*****g man. If you ever need a place to train. Any time you’re in Colorado, if you need anything, a ride or anything, I’m there for you. You’re gonna become a champion, and I hope I can help you one day, bro.
“I didn’t expect it. I 100 percent thought I was going to be out of there in the first two minutes. That being said. Humble lessons learned. That kid will be a f*****g champion. And I swear to God I’ll do anything to help him become that one day.”
And while he was fulsome in his praise for his opponent, and his ability to one day rule the 125-pound division, Royval wants to reach that goal himself, and has his sights set on the winner of the recently-announced flyweight title bout between champion Alexandre Pantoja and Japan’s former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura.
“If you need a backup for the Edmonton fight, I’ll fight either one of those motherf*****s,” he stated.
“I beat everybody in the top five. I have a win over everybody in the top five. I get that f*****g title shot next. I’ll be the backup. Kai Asakura, I’m going to Japan and I”m taking that s**t. If Pantoja wins it, I’m going to Brazil and I’m taking that s**t.
“Title shot next, that’s the only f*****g discussion. I beat everybody in the top five in the f*****g division. Who the f**k else?!”
UFC Vegas 98: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
- Jun-Yong Park def. Brad Tavares via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chidi Njokuani def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Grant Dawson def. Rafa Garcia via TKO (elbows and punches) – Round 2, 1:42
- Daniel Rodriguez def. Alex Morono via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Ramazan Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:50
- Pat Sabatini def. Jonathan Pearce via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:06
- Themba Gorimbo def. Niko Price via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:15
- Julia Polastri def. Cory McKenna via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Cody Haddon def. Daniel Argueta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:12
