Brandon Royval avenged one of the key losses of his career against Brandon Moreno on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 237 – and did it in enemy territory.
Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) went into a hostile situation at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City and upset former two-time flyweight champion Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) by split decision, getting one back after he suffered a first-round TKO loss in their first meeting back in November 2020.
With the win, Royval could potentially get another title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in May.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Royval’s victory over Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237.
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MMA Junkie
We've arrived at the #UFCMexico main event coming up in a matter of minutes! Who ya got?!?
Full coverage: https://t.co/66G45E8Iwj pic.twitter.com/KpjEtB5Ywe
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 25, 2024
UFC
Looking for redemption 👀@BrandonRoyval | #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/3LL630zcCH
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
UFC
Closing the show for Mexico 🇲🇽 #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/RqC89qQn1R
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
UFC
The #UFCMexico Main Event starts NOW on @ESPNPlus 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/fZmnZZ4loi
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
Cageside Press
Moreno leg kick. Royval too. Now to the body.
Royval trying to sneak in the right hand behind the guard using his length.
Royval following Moreno around. #UFCMexicoCity
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) February 25, 2024
Mookie Alexander
Uhhhhh why is Moreno choosing to fight this way. #UFCMexicoCity
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) February 25, 2024
Fight Ghost
Live odds Moreno -400 after 1 round #UFCMexicoCity
— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) February 25, 2024
Aaron Bronsteter
10-9 Moreno in something of a low output round for these two fighters.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 25, 2024
Jimi Manuwa
Royval looking sharp !! He might have the edge tonight ! #UFCMexicoCity
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) February 25, 2024
Muhammad Mokaev
I’m watching 👀 #UFCMexicoCity
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) February 25, 2024
Carlos Contreras
Royval’s left leg is hurting bad #UFCMexico
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) February 25, 2024
Aaron Bronsteter
20-18 Moreno after two, but both guys starting to find their rhythm in a competitive fight.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 25, 2024
E. Spencer Kyte
Royval scrambles so well, man. #UFCMexico
— E. Spencer Kyte (@spencerkyte) February 25, 2024
Jed Meshew II
This might be the worst Moreno has looked since TUF. I have no idea what he’s doing out there, what the plan was, of where his mechanics have gone.
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) February 25, 2024
Sean Sheehan
It's 29-28 after 3. The extremely close 1st will decide to who. #UFCMexico
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) February 25, 2024
Muhammad Mokaev
2024 strap season 🥇🙂
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) February 25, 2024
Ben Davis
Brandon Moreno tonight #UFCMexicoCity pic.twitter.com/WqVNGODfbC
— Ben Davis (@BenTheBaneDavis) February 25, 2024
Alexander K Lee
win or lose, this is the Royval I wanted to see in the second Pantoja fight #UFCMexico
— Alexander K Lee (@AlexanderKLee) February 25, 2024
Fight Ghost
Crowd in Mexico growing silent as Royval becomes the live wagering favorite entering the fifth and final round ! #UFCMexicoCity
— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) February 25, 2024
Kevin Iole
Fifth round is going to decide this, and the momentum is all with Raw Dog Royval #UFCMexicoCity
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 25, 2024
Daniel Rubenstein
3-1 Royval heading into the 5th #UFCMexicoCity
— Daniel Rubenstein (@dannyrube) February 25, 2024
Marc Raimondi
Coach Sayif Saud to Moreno in the corner: "You want your f—ing belt back?" #UFCMexico
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) February 25, 2024
Dan Henderson
Who’s winning this fight? #UFCMexicoCity
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) February 25, 2024
Matt Brown
Dunno if it's the 7,000 feet or something else, but this has been a bizarre Moreno performance.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownM2) February 25, 2024
Matthew Wells
Wow. Herb Dean is way too quick with the calls for action in the clinch. #UFCMexico
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) February 25, 2024
Jimi Manuwa
What a fight!! What a round 5 !! #UFCMexicoCity
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) February 25, 2024
Sean Sheehan
Fucking 9000 strikes landed and Brendan Fitzgerald is talking about 13 seconds of control time in the clinch.
Give me a fucking break lad.
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) February 25, 2024
Aaron Bronsteter
I have it 48-47 Royval
That fifth round was very close and will likely decide it
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 25, 2024
King Typo
Card ends with a pair of featherweights fighting like light heavyweights and a pair of flyweights fighting like middleweights. I have no idea what just happened
— King Typo (@BoxingBusch) February 25, 2024
UFC
What a SCRAP! 👏
📝 Five rounds in the books – how did you score our #UFCMexico main event? 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/eNMJhOYNkA
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 25, 2024
Jared Gordon
I thought Royval won but that probably means nothing in Mexico
— Jared Gordon (@JFlashGordonMMA) February 25, 2024
Belal Muhammad
Both guys named Brandon I think the judges are gonna be all over the place with these cards
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 25, 2024
Caposa
The Brandon fucked everyone up. What a win for Raw Dawg. Best performance of his career.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 25, 2024
Oscar Willis
Royval momentarily forgetting his own name is also Brandon because he assumed he wasn't getting the decision is a level of pessimism I can relate to
— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) February 25, 2024
MMA Junkie
#UFCMexico results: Brandon Royval (@BrandonRoyval) def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47)
Full coverage: https://t.co/66G45E8Iwj pic.twitter.com/cmHi2fE31T
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 25, 2024
UFC
BY SPLIT DECISION @BrandonRoyval gets the victory in an EPIC five round fight! #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/R0Oq0E8KR3
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) February 25, 2024
Marc Ramondi
Royval: "I’m a third-generation Mexican. I know that doesn’t count, but the only reason I get through this s— is because I got that Mexican heart like all you guys. … I love you people, I love Mexico. Hey, I’m one of you guys as much as I can be. The best part of me is you."
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) February 25, 2024
Megan Anderson
Incredibly close fight. Both Brandon's put on a helluva show and had their moments 👏🏻
Royval stepped in on short notice tonight in what was being considered a no.1 contender fight tonight.. since his last fight was a L to the champ.. don't see him getting that immediate rematch…
— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) February 25, 2024
UFC
Flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja has a moment with Brandon Royval after tonight’s #UFCMexico main event 👀 pic.twitter.com/fEAxJC9iBm
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
Muhammad Mokaev
This fight tonight motivated me a lot to finish Alex Perez and it’s a strap season inshaAllah ☝🏻
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) February 25, 2024
