The winner of the UFC Fight Night 237 main event was Brandon, but not the one the Mexico City crowd in attendance hoped for.
Saturday at Mexico City Arena, Brandon Royval (16-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) by split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47).
The five-round non-title affair was filled with high-volume exchanges, despite the elevation. Royval overcame a bothersome left knee, which his Factory X corner iced between rounds, to defeat Moreno with his aggression and boxing.
Moreno was strong early, but as the fight progressed, Royval’s rate of success increased. The fight was razor-close going into the fifth round. Both corners indicated to their fighters the urgency of the moment.
The final minute of the bout was thrilling as the two flyweights wildly chucked fists at each other in a last-ditch effort to make their final impressions of three cage-side judges.
While the “Brandon” that rolled off Bruce Buffer’s tongue caused some confusion, the “Royval” sealed the deal.
Got the win on short notice 😤@BrandonRoyval wins the #UFCMexico main event by split decision! pic.twitter.com/wsYdXGxBZN
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
The first meeting between the two took place in November 2020 and ended in unfortunate fashion when Royval injured his shoulder, which caused a stoppage with one second left in the first round. The win propelled Moreno to a title tetralogy against Deiveson Figueiredo. Upon his return, Royval went 3-1 en route a title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja, which he lost by unanimous decision in December.
It’s unclear if Royval will be next for Pantoja. UFC CEO Dana White would not commit to who the next flyweight contender is during his post-fight news conference.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 237 results include:
- Brandon Royval def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47)
- Brian Ortega def. Yair Rodriguez via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 0:58
- Daniel Zellhuber def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-26)
- Yazmin Jauregui def. Sam Hughes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Manuel Torres def. Chris Duncan via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:46
- Raoni Barcelos def. Christian Quinonez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:04
- Jesus Aguilar def. Mateus Mendonca via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Edgar Chairez def. Daniel Lacerda via submission ( triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:17
- Fares Ziam def. Claudio Puelles via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- Luis Rodriguez def. Denys Bondar via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:59
- Felipe dos Santos def. Victor Altamirano via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Muhammad Naimov def. Erik Silva via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 0:44
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
