This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 112, we saw a big time matchup in the flyweight division. Former title challenger Brandon Royval (17-9) was taking on former RIZIN champion Manel Kape (22-7) with a potential flyweight title shot on the line.
Brandon Royval entered 2025 with a ton of momentum. After falling short against Alexandre Pantoja in a title fight in December 2023, Royval went 2-0 in 2024 with wins over former champion Brandon Moreno and top contender Tatsuro Taira.
It felt like Royval was one good win away from getting another shot at the flyweight title. He was supposed to fight Manel Kape in March, but he suffered an injury. The fight was rescheduled for June and then Kape suffered an injury.
Royval accepted a fight against Joshua Van and Van ultimately beat Royval and he was the one who got the title shot. A title shot he cashed in on when Alexandre Pantoja injured his arm in 20 seconds making Van the UFC flyweight champion.
Royval and Kape were scheduled for a third time this past weekend and Royval needed to bounce back. Unfortunately, that bounce back didn’t happen as Kape stopped Royval in the first round. After a stellar 2024 that saw him go 2-0, Royval had an awful 2025 where he went 0-2 inside the octagon.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 112?
Knowing how Brandon Royval operates and knowing his thought process, you know that he wants to get back inside the octagon as soon as possible. However, booking him next is going to be tricky considering the flyweight division is mostly booked at the moment.
Royval is currently ranked fourth in the UFC’s flyweight division and he’s not going to be booked against anyone in front of him. The next four guys behind him are all booked to face each other which leaves Royval with the guys that are ranked 9th and 10th in the division.
Honestly, I think a fight with either of those men does make sense for Royval. Those two guys are former title challengers Tim Elliott and Steve Erceg. Royval has already fought and defeated Tim Elliott so my money would be on a fight with Steve Erceg especially with Erceg’s recent history at the top of the division.
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