Brandon Royval battles Alex Pantoja for UFC flyweight belt

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Pantoja versus Brandon Royval.

The rematch. Candidate for “Fight of the Night” at UFC 296 — the last big event for 2023 as the world’s premier combat sports organization finishes the first half of its 30th anniversary celebration.

It’s fireworks even before the celebration for the incoming new year. 

It is the perfect setup for the main event of welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ second title defense, but this time against Colby Covington.

The last time Royval lost a fight, it was to Pantoja in August of 2021. Since then, the Denver, Colorado native has adjusted his game, and the result is a three-match win streak, including “Fight of the Night” in a win against Matt Schnell and “Performance of the Night” against Matheus Nicolau.

Those two recent wins have been highlight reel first-round finishes.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything because I respect Alex, but I am a much better fighter than what everyone saw in 2021,” admitted Royval, who was submitted via rear-naked choke by Pantoja. 

The mixed martial arts world was treated to a more well-rounded Royval in his next fights.

“I came up with a formula that I have stayed and used for each fight,” he said. “It’s just perfecting it along the way.”

“I made some mistakes that I shouldn’t have (against Pantoja). And that motivates me. The belt — yeah, it is nice — but I want to do this for me and my family. And a win would be a nice Christmas gift.”

More than a personal gift, a victory would mean much to the young men and women he works with every Wednesday at the Denver Dream Center, where Royval is a volunteer. 

There, he plays basketball and teaches boxing to kids in hopes of giving them confidence and to stay off the streets.

This will be Pantoja’s first title defense since wresting the belt from Brandon Moreno in an epic match in UFC 290 last July. That was the third time Pantoja defeated Moreno.

The Brazilian totes a 26-5-0 record while the American is 15-6-0. 

UFC 296, the last UFC event for 2023, will be televised live on Sunday, December 17, on the Premier Sports Channel on Sky Cable and Cignal as well as the streaming site Blast TV. The early preliminary card begins at 7 a.m. with the preliminary card kicking off at 9 a.m. The main card is scheduled for 11 a.m.