Brandon Royval has a vested interest in the UFC 310 main event because the outcome could determine whether or not a title shot awaits him in 2025.
Following a thrilling win over Tatsuro Taira in a potential Fight of the Year contender, the 32-year-old flyweight jumped right back to the top of the title race with reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja set to defend his belt against former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura on Saturday at UFC 310. Because he has two prior losses to Pantoja in the past, Royval admits his life gets a whole lot easier and the title picture becomes far less complicated if Asakura can pull off the upset in his octagon debut.
“For me, we need a shakeup in the division. I need a shakeup personally,” Royval told MMA Fighting. “Nobody needs a shakeup more than me being the No. 1 contender so it’s like if [Kai Asakura] goes out there and beats Pantoja, perfect, then I get the next title shot. No doubt in my mind.
“Pantoja wins, are they going to bring somebody else in? Who am I going to fight next? What happens next? In my opinion, if he goes out there and dominates Pantoja and is able get the win, I get the next title shot. I felt the same way with Steve Erceg. Nobody was rooting harder for Steve Erceg than me in that arena.”
To be perfectly clear, Royval isn’t necessarily praying for Pantoja’s downfall because he actually has a ton of respect for the Brazilian after spending over 30 minutes in the cage together.
But those two losses, which includes falling to Pantoja in a five-round decision in December 2023, makes it that much harder for Royval to get back to another shot at UFC gold.
“I like Pantoja a lot,” Royval said. “He’s probably one of the better human beings in the UFC. But I’m rooting for him to take the ‘L’ and if he doesn’t, I don’t think people put respect on Pantoja’s name. Pantoja’s amazing.
“Pantoja hits harder than anyone in that division and he’s probably one of the strongest in the division, not to mention he has amazing jiu-jitsu technique and just an iron will to win. A will to win, an iron jaw, Pantoja is one of the most slept on fighters in the UFC.”
That said, Royval knows there’s a clear path to victory for Asakura in this fight thanks to his blistering power on the feet with the ability to knock out anybody — including Pantoja.
After he went to war with Pantoja on two different occasions, Royval actually believes Asakura has a weapon in his arsenal that could really benefit him at UFC 310. It’s part of Royval’s arsenal that he actually regrets not using in his two fights against Pantoja.
“I’ve hit Pantoja clean with like four knees to the face and that motherf*cker ate and just kept coming,” Royval said. “Straight Terminator style. I never even thought about hitting him in the body. I think there’s a couple of cool things that [Asakura] presents and I think a body shot might be the way to finish Pantoja. I also just think that fight’s going to be one-sided, one way or the other.
“If Pantoja gets him to the ground, I think it’s going to be a nightmare. I don’t think Kai Asakura has ever felt what Pantoja will bring and the skills that he brings and vice versa. If that fight stays standing, Pantoja’s in deep shit.”
While Asakura winning is the surest way back to a title shot, Royval doesn’t believe for a second that Pantoja would avoid a third fight against him but he can’t say if the UFC is interested in that matchup.
That’s why Asakura becoming champion just simplifies things but Royval knows if the choice was up to him, Pantoja would almost certainly accept the challenge to face him again.
“I’m confident he’ll fight anybody,” Royval said. “I think Pantoja’s definitely not the kind of guy to duck or fade. I think career wise, he’s trying to choose the best path for him and maybe that’s going up to [135 pounds]. I know he’s talked about that. But I don’t think he’s ducking any fights, any time soon.”
