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UFC Flyweight contenders Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira squared off earlier tonight (Sat., Oct. 12, 2024) at UFC Vegas 98 LIVE on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. After 25 competitive minutes, Royval was named the winner via split-decision.
After an early exchange of kicks, Taira started off the wrestling exchanges. Royval was able to keep things upright early, but he ate a counter right hand soon afterward. Royval answered with a couple straight punches of his own. “Raw Dog” seemed to find his range midway through the round, timing left kicks and counter shots well. Before long, Taira’s face was going red, and he was falling behind on the numbers. Just as things really seemed to be going against the Japanese fighter, he stung Royval with two right hands and threw the veteran to the floor. Royval transitioned into a leg entanglement and used it to get back to his feet to close the round.
It was an eventful five minutes to say the least.
Taira’s right hand found the mark a couple times in the opening exchanges of round two, then he floored Royval with a well-timed takedown. This time, he was able to take the back and establish his control. Minutes ticked away as Royval frantically scrambled but failed to escape Taira’s grasp. Royval wasn’t able to escape until the closing seconds of the round, making for a strong rebound from Taira.
Taira tried to return to the wrestling early in round three, but Royval met his shot with a bevy of strikes and broke free. Royval used his time in open space to land some hard combinations, which Taira just walked through. Despite wearing the shots well at first, Taira was starting to look really fatigued. He was able to force a grappling exchange for a moment, but Royval returned to his feet and went back to dropping combinations on the young fighter.
Royval did a ton of damage and then jumped Taira’s back. He tried to transition into an armbar, but Taira reversed his way into top position and started working to take the back! Moments later, he was hunting a tight rear naked choke as the bell sounded.
Simply put, the third was one of the year’s best rounds, and there was still ten minutes left!
Both men were looking worse for wear by the start of the fourth, but Taira was able to force another takedown and back take. Once again, Royval found himself very stuck in the back mount, forced to work very hard to little avail. With a minute remaining in the round, Taira trapped Royval’s arm in the body triangle, but he still wasn’t able to sink in the choke.
Likely, it was all up for grabs with five minutes remaining.
Royval’s hands couldn’t miss to start the fifth. Taira wasn’t moving his head, and he was running into the longer man’s punches as a result. Still, he stuck Royval with a jab or two then double legged him to the floor. Royval scrambled his way into top position this time, refusing to give up his back. He moved into his own back take for a brief moment, but Taira escaped back to standing.
Royval landed a few good shots on the feet, but Taira returned to his wrestling. This time, Royval stuffed the shot and kept things upright. The two were brawling when Royval jumped on a guillotine choke, using the strangle to reverse his way into mount! Taira scrambled and Royval attacked the rear naked choke, putting Taira in serious danger just before the final bell.
The strong finish sealed the win for “Raw Dog.”
Check out some of the highlight clips below:
This was a really fun fight. Taira showed off his mastery of jiu-jitsu when able to complete takedowns, but Royval also taught him that there’s still a lot for the youngster to learn about kickboxing. Taira’s head movement really failed him in this match up, allowing Royval to pull ahead on damage and chip away at Taira’s gas tank.
It was an excellent performance from Royval, who is definitely back in the immediate title mix … if Alexandre Pantoja loses to Kai Asakura.
Result: Brandon Royval defeats Tatsuro Taira via split-decision
For complete UFC Vegas 98 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
