The trouble with going to a decision when you’re facing someone with the same first name as you is that you have to wait an extra beat longer to know whether or not you were the one who landed on the happy side of the split decision verdict.
That was the case on Saturday night in Mexico City, where Brandon Royval avenged his previous loss to Brandon Moreno, edging out the two-time titleholder on the scorecards in a competitive, back-and-forth main event to close out an entertaining night of action at Arena CDMX.
Royval deployed his usual high-volume approach throughout the contest, getting rolling in the second after a slower first. While Moreno hunted for heavier single shots, the Factory X Muay Thai representative was far more active and effective, picking at “The Assassin Baby” with kicks to the body and legs, knees to the midsection, and a steady diet of punches.
When Moreno looked to initiate grappling sequences and clinch situations along the cage, Royval was at his scrambling best, quickly extricating himself from the entanglements, returning to space, and getting back to business.
As much as this was an excellent result for the 31-year-old Royval, it’s a challenging outcome for the division.
Saturday’s main event victor just fought champion Alexandre Pantoja in December, losing a lopsided decision at UFC 296. While he called for a rematch and said things would be different the next time around, it’s difficult to get too amped to see that fight again this quickly given how one-sided things were between the two.
Another bout between Moreno and Pantoja would have been more palatable had the former champion won, as their last meeting ended in a razor-thin, widely debated split decision verdict, but that wasn’t meant to be, and now the UFC’s first Mexican champ has lost back-to-back contests by narrow margins and needs to regroup.
There are a couple of Top 15 flyweight pairings on tap next week — one between Alex Perez and Muhammad Mokaev, the other pitting Matt Schnell against Steve Erceg — and the latter man in each of those contests are able to keep their momentum rolling, hustling one into a championship opportunity while the other faces Royval in a No. 1 contender bout might be the matchmaking solution the UFC needs at the moment.
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Even before the co-main event officially began, it seemed like Brian Ortega was in trouble, as the two-time title challenger rolled his ankle during introductions. Early in the contest, Ortega was dropped by Yair Rodriguez, and for a moment, it looked as if things might end early.
But Ortega survived the barrage and closed the round strong before taking it to Rodriguez in the second, wrestling him to the canvas and having success from top position for more than half of their round. As soon as the third began, the 33-year-old Californian charged across the Octagon, put Rodriguez on the canvas, and went to work, locking up an arm-triangle choke that prompted a speedy tap from the Mexican contender.
This was a gutsy effort in a somewhat must-win assignment for Ortega, who entered on a two-fight skid and looking for his first victory since October 2020. Finishing Rodriguez is a big feather in his cap and solidifies his place in the divisional hierarchy, but figuring out what comes next for him is a little difficult.
A lone victory, even over someone as established and highly ranked as Rodriguez, doesn’t necessarily feel significant enough to merit a third shot at the featherweight title, though he would certainly be a marquee name to match up with newly minted champion Ilia Topuria in his first title defence. A rematch between Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski in the back half of the year would carry title implications and serve as the exact type of pairing needed to definitively illustrate which of the two still carries elite skill and the ability to challenge for championship gold once more.
For Rodriguez, this is a heartbreaking setback in his home nation and an all-too-familiar result against the division’s elite.
Despite claiming the interim featherweight title last February, the 31-year-old has struggled against other top contenders throughout his career, falling to Frankie Edgar early in his career, as well as Max Holloway, Volkanovski and now Ortega over his last five fights. He has electric offence, but his gas tank isn’t particularly robust, and at this point, he profiles more as someone on the fringes of contention and a tough assignment for anyone with golden dreams than a bona fide contender himself.
Having lost consecutive contests, a step back to slot in with someone a little further down the divisional rankings in the summer would make a lot of sense as a means of trying to get things moving in the right direction again. How about the winner of the UFC 300 clash between Calvin Kattar and Aljamain Sterling?
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A trio of emerging Mexican talents showed out to kick off the main card.
Manuel Torres got things started with a first-round submission win over Chris Duncan, showcasing a different side of his diverse and dangerous all-around game. The 28-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series grad is now 3-0 in the UFC with three straight first-round finishes, and riding a six-fight run of success overall.
Tijuana’s Yazmin Jauregui showed greater patience and poise in returning to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Sam Hughes. The 24-year-old suffered her first career loss last summer at UFC 290, falling in just 20 seconds to Denise Gomes, but re-affirmed her standing as one to watch in the strawweight ranks by out-landing Hughes throughout.
And after dropping his promotional debut, Daniel Zellbuher pushed his wining streak to three with an impressive showing against Francisco Prado. Following a close first round, the 24-year-old “Golden Boy” got to work behind his jab, busting up Prado to push his record to 15-1 overall.
The prelims featured a mix of stoppages and split decisions, with two of the three fights that went the distance feeling like they very easily could have gone the other way.
Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos wrapped the early slate with a gritty third-round submission win over Cristian Quiñonez, navigating a dislocated shoulder to trip the Dana White’s Contender Series alum to the canvas, work to his back and lace up a rear-naked choke.
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Earlier in the evening, Mexican competitors Edgar Chairez and Ronaldo Rodríguez each secured their first victories inside the Octagon, the former tapping out Daniel Lacerda in the opening round and the latter doing the same to Denys Bondar in the second.
Flyweights Jesus Aguilar and Felipe dos Santos each landed on the happy side of split decision verdicts, and in each instance, the outcome was a bit of a surprise as their respective opponents Mateus Mendonca and Victor Altamirano looked to have done enough to secure the wins.
There was no question that Fares Ziam did more damage throughout his contest with Claudio Puelles, leading to the French lightweight securing his third straight win and moving to 5-1 over his last six fights, while promising featherweight Muhammad Naimov registered his third consecutive UFC win in the opener after Erik Silva suffered a knee injury moments into the fight.
