Brandon Royval comes into the fight on the heels of an impressive three-fight win streak that includes finishes over Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau. The ladder of the wins was his most recent and most impressive in the promotion, where Royval ended an impressive six-fight win streak.
Alexandre Pantoja acknowledged the challenges that Royval presents and feels he’s improved since their last fight but believes he’ll “put on an outstanding show” for the fans. The fight marks the first defense of the title he won back in July against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290.
Pantoja Defends Throne With Dominant Grappling Display
The champion came out hard with some big punches and kicks trying to take early control of the cage. A clinch exchange was quickly broken off by Royval and the two remained kickboxing in the center of the cage. Pantoja attacked another clinch that pushed Royval against the cage, this time landing a double-leg takedown. Royval remained extremely active off his back and landed some big upkicks and hammer fists from the bottom. After being caught with some of those shots, Pantoja decided to remain in guard until getting up with 30 seconds left in the round. Royval got up and continued a kick-heavy onslaught on the champion to end the round.
Pantoja opened the second round with a big right hand that put the challenger on the backfoot. Another takedown attempt was defended by Royval but Pantoja kept coming forward and landed his next attempt. From there, Pantoja worked half-guard while staying heavy on top. He worked his way to side control and attempted to get his hands free but was forced back into half-guard. Royval did a good job getting to his feet where he landed some big kicks. Pantoja timed another takedown with a kick and ended the round.
The champion wasted no time getting the fight right back to his comfort zone as soon as the 3rd started. He ended up in mount and attempted a tight triangle choke that Royval rolled out of. The men made it back to their feet and the challenger continued to attack with kicks and elbows. Royval seemed to be the fresher man at this point and cracked Royval with a big combo to show that. A knee up the middle landed clean for the challenger, reminiscent of the knee that won his last fight, but the champion walked through it and dragged Royval down to again end the round on top.
Royval Comes Alive Late
The fourth round may as well have started with Pantoja on top, because he got the fight right back to where he wanted. Instead of staying comfortable in guard, Pantoja worked to the back and attacked the neck of Royval while holding a body triangle. The challenger did as best as he could to fight the hands and was successful after a bit. Pantoja stayed on his back until Royval reversed with 30 seconds left in the round and let off an onslaught of strikes from the top.
Royval came out hard in round five with everything he had left in the tank. He came at the champion with as many combinations as possible and started landing some big shots. Royval’s aggression ended up playing against him as it did most of the fight, leading to another takedown for the Brazilian.
UFC Fighters React to Alexandre Pantoja Continuing Title Reign
UFC fighters reacted to and called out champion Alexandre Pantoja following the win:
What did you think about Pantoja’s performance in the rematch? Who would you like to see him fight next? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
