Brandon Royval showed he still warrants consideration as one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight elite.
The resilient Factory X standout called upon superior standup, bulletproof submission defense and a seemingly endless gas tank to outlast Tatsuro Taira to a five-round split decision in the UFC Fight Night 244 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three member of the judiciary struck 48-47 scorecards: Sal D’Amato for Taira, Chris Lee and Ron McCarthy for Royval.
Taira (16-1, 6-1 UFC) was stellar in the grappling exchanges through four rounds, as he advanced to the back on multiple occasions, secured his position with body triangles, applied his ground-and-pound and threatened the neck. Royval (17-7, 7-3 UFC) answered on the feet, where he connected with surgical combinations and the occasional knee. He had Taira on the proverbial ropes early in the third round, as he sent two-, three- and four-punch volleys crashing into his head. The Shooto champion capitalized on an ill-advised armbar attempt late in the period, transitioned to the back and made a pass at a rear-naked choke. The outcome will still very much in doubt when they entered Round 5. There, Royval carved up his counterpart with punches and used a guillotine choke to roll into mount and eventually scramble to the back. Repeated choke and crank attempts followed until the horn sounded.
Royval will head into his next assignment having won five of his last six fights.
Meanwhile, Korean Top Team’s Jun Yong Park wore down and ultimately broke “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 semifinalist Brad Tavares with merciless pressure and high output, as he was awarded a split verdict in their three-round middleweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Junichiro Kamijo for Tavares, Michael Bell and Eric Colon for Park.
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Tavares (20-10, 15-10 UFC) decked the South Korean with a sharp one-two in the first round and swarmed for a potential finish. It never materialized. Park (18-6, 8-3 UFC) recovered, pressed forward behind punching volleys and delivered a series of kicks to Hawaiian’s lower lead leg. Tavares conceded a takedown midway through the third round and spent three-plus minutes pinned to the canvas, as he ate punches, watched valuable time tick off the clock and left his fate to the scorecards.
Park, 33, has rattled off five victories in six appearances.
Further down the main draw, onetime Tachi Palace Fights titleholder Chidi Njokuani brutalized Jared Gooden in the clinch ahead of a lopsided unanimous decision in their three-round welterweight attraction. Njokuani (24-10, 4-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary.
Gooden (23-10, 2-5 UFC), who missed weight for the match by 1.5 pounds, mustered little in terms of meaningful offense. Njokuani dissected him in close quarters, hammering away with knees to the midsection and short elbows the head. Gooden at times seemed content to take a 15-minute beating. Njokuani powered into full mount after a failed takedown attempt from the X3 Sports rep in the third round, freed himself from a kimura and put forth a sustained burst of punches and elbows that tied a bow on his performance.
The 35-year-old Njokuani has posted back-to-back wins for the first time since 2022.
Elsewhere, American Top Team’s Grant Dawson put away former Combate Global champion Rafa Garcia with ferocious ground-and-pound in the second round of their lightweight attraction. The surging Dawson (22-2-1, 10-1-1 UFC) drew the curtain 1:42 into Round 2.
Garcia (16-4, 4-4 UFC) could not stay on his feet and paid a steep price as a result. Dawson executed a takedown in the first round and let fly with hammerfists, elbow strikes and punches. It was a harbinger of what was to come. He took down Garcia inside the first minute of second period and hacked open a nasty cut on his forehead with a perfectly placed elbow. Blood spurted from the wound, and gave Dawson the go-ahead to increase intensity of his strikes. Repeated elbows gave way to unanswered punches, prompting the stoppage.
The 30-year-old Dawson has won five of his past six bouts.
Finally, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Daniel Rodriguez got his hand raised for the first time in more than two years, as he eked out a split decision over Alex Morono in a three-round welterweight appetizer. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: D’Amato for Morono, Bell and Adalaide Byrd for Rodriguez.
Morono (24-11, 13-8 UFC) led the dance through much of the first five minutes. The Fortis MMA rep countered effectively, mixed in a few kicks and connected with a number of looping overhand rights. Rodriguez (18-5, 8-4 UFC) picked up his pace in the middle stanza and probed for openings at all levels, targeting the body, head and legs. Suddenly, momentum was his. “D-Rod” staggered Morono with a clean one-two in the third round, chipped away with body-head combinations, excelled in the clinch and secured a late takedown to punctuate his performance.
The victory closed the book on Rodriguez’s three-fight losing streak.
