Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Vegas 34, we will see a tremendous matchup in the flyweight division. Two of the division’s most exciting top contenders will battle it out as Alexandre Pantoja (23-5) takes on Brandon Royval (12-5).
Pantoja ranks third in the UFC‘s flyweight division while Royval is sixth ahead of tomorrow night’s matchup. This is the first time we’ve seen Brandon Royval since UFC 255 when he took on Brandon Moreno. In hindsight, that fight was a title eliminator.
Royval started out the round well, but Moreno really turned things around at the mid-point. Near the end of the round, Royval suffered an injury and Moreno followed up to get the TKO victory. It was revealed that Royval tore his labrum in the fight.
While it’s certainly a serious injury, Royval is back at UFC Vegas 34 after just under nine months away. Standing in his way is one of the most dangerous contenders in the division in Alexandre Pantoja.
In his last seven fights, Pantoja is 5-2. One of those wins came against the current UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. We last saw him in February when he defeated Manel Kape by decision.
UFC Vegas 34 Prediction
This flyweight matchup at UFC Vegas 34 is already being looked at as the Fight of The Night. Both men love to bring it and both have extremely exciting styles that should compliment each other.
Brandon Royval really showed out in 2020 prior to the Moreno fight. He defeated Kai Kara-France and former title challenger Tim Elliot and looked good doing it. Obviously, he has slick skills on the ground and he’s very fluid on his feet.
That said, his injury at UFC 255 concerns me. Nine months seems like a quick turn around for a labrum injury and we really don’t know how he’s going to look. We do know what were going to get from Pantoja.
Pantoja is one of the hardest hitters in the division and he’s extremely talented. The power he possesses might cause some hesitancy from Royval. That combined with Royval returning from injury and I just like Pantoja from an activity standpoint. I think it’s really fun, but I have Pantoja winning here.
Prediction: Alexandre Pantoja by Unanimous Decision