Brandon Royval understands the old fighting idiom. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. That’s why, he says, his choice for a comeback fight is the “scariest flyweight”, Alexandre Pantoja.
Royval told BJPenn.com that his priority in returning to action was taking as tough an opponent as he could get. “For me, I didn’t want to take any steps back so it was either Alexandre Pantoja or Askar Askarov. Pantoja is the more dangerous opponent.
Brandon Royval: “Scariest flyweight” Alexandre Pantoja Won’t Be Enough To Beat Him
I know Askarov won their fight between them but he doesn’t scare me. If I fought Askarov, I’m not worried about getting knocked out or finished, I’m worried about getting wrestlef****d for 15 minutes. Pantoja, besides me, is the scariest flyweight in the division.
We both have a finisher’s mentality and he tries to knock people dead and goes for submissions, which motivates me. This is the hardest flyweight fight there is. We are the two scariest flyweight fighters”
Royval’s last fight was last November, when at UFC 255 he faced soon-to-be champion Brandon Moreno. Early in the fight, Royval dislocated his shoulder, Moreno won, and went on to become flyweight champ.
“I had 100 percent needed surgery, got surgery, got reconstructive surgery done and I needed that. I was happy I got that done and as you saw in the Moreno fight, the shoulder came out like nothing. For it to come out on something so minor shows how bad I needed that surgery. I’m glad I could get that done.”
Royval plans on finishing Pantoja and working his way up to a Moreno rematch, ideally with a better outcome than a damaged shoulder.
“I have to go in there and make a statement. I plan on finishing him. A finish over him also shows I’m the deadliest guy in the division.”
If I go out there and finish Pantoja, like I don’t think anyone is excited to see Askarov fight at all, maybe a couple of Russians, but as far as that goes, I think everybody wants to see me vs. Brandon Moreno again.
That’s the f*****g fight to make. If they don’t do Figgy-Moreno 3, then give me that fight, that’s the firefight. There’s unfinished business there. It was a close first round, I wasn’t getting my ass whooped. But, that being said, I have the hardest fight in the flyweight division in front of me.”
Royval may well have to join the queue for Moreno, as Deiveson Figueiredo has also expressed his desire for a rematch against the champ. But first, he’ll need to put on a show at UFC Vegas 34 this weekend.
Do you think Royval has what it takes to take out Brandon Moreno? Let us know in the comments.
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