Brandon Royval is going to want to put 2025 in the rear-view mirror after a winless year came to a conclusion Saturday at UFC on ESPN 73.
One-time flyweight title challenger Royval (17-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) suffered the quickest defeat of his career at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when Manel Kape (22-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) found his chin early in the headlining bout and got a finish at the 3:18 mark of Round 1. It’s the first time in more than five years that “Raw Dawg” has been stopped with strikes, and it puts further distance between him and other crack at gold.
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Royval gave a quick update on his condition and disappointment with the result on social media (via Instagram):
Royval, 33, challenged then-champ Alexandre Pantoja for gold at UFC 296 in December 2023 and lost a unanimous decision on the scorecards. He bounced back in 2024 with wins over Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira, then 2025 hit tough with defeats to now-champ Joshua Van in June, then the result against Kape.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Brandon Royval reacts after quickest career loss at UFC Vegas 112
