With a loaded lineup on tap for Saturday’s UFC 296 event, the flyweight title co-headliner between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval isn’t getting many headlines.
The 125-pound championship bout will see Pantoja (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) put his belt on the line for the first time against Royval (15-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a rematch of an August 2021 fight, which Pantoja won by second-round submission.
Both men have flourished since that result, and will run it back in the pay-per-view co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which follows prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Both the champion and the challenger are soft-spoken and humble athletes who have no history of speaking or acting out of turn. That is likely a product of their fight flying under the radar, but there’s plenty of potential for an explosive contest when they step into the octagon.
Despite that, should Pantoja and Royval be getting more attention heading into fight night? That was a topic of discussion on the this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” with host George Garcia and panelists Brian Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Dan Tom.
Check out the video above or watch the full episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
