Brandon Royval Recalls Jitters Ahead of UFC Debut

Brandon Royval recently revisited his feelings going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in 2020.

Royval was the LFA flyweight champ when he got a call for a short-notice UFC debut against Tim Elliott. At the time, Elliott was a veteran with 12 UFC outings to his name and on his second stint in the promotion. 

Royval recalls Elliott looking extremely confident as he danced his way inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, “Raw Dawg” didn’t feel the same confidence and wanted to avoid eye contact with Dana White, who was cageside.

“If I’m being 100% honest, I felt like that was my fight to lose but it was my in to the UFC,” Royval said on UFC Connected. “He was dancing across the ring, he looked so comfortable. And I remember I was standing on the side where Dana White was, and I just did not want to look at him. I was just trying to stay locked in, but I remember he looked so comfortable and I just did not feel that.” 

Royval Recalls First Octagon Appearance

While Elliott came out with guns blazing in the first round, Royval knew the fight was his once he weathered the initial storm. Elliott jumped on a guillotine in the second round, and Royval capitalized on that to earn a submission win via arm triangle. Royval also walked away with an extra $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. 

Royval has since gone on to establish himself as a perennial contender, only losing to former champ Brandon Moreno and current champ Alexandre Pantoja in the process. Royval was scheduled to Manel Kape at UFC 317 on Saturday in Las Vegas. However, Kape pulled out due to an injury and will be replaced by Joshua Van, who makes a three-week turnaround after a stoppage win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316.