A highly anticipated UFC Fight Night main event between Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira lived up to the hype and then some. And after five rounds of back-and-forth, hard-fought action, Royval ultimately came out on top in a split decision.
Royval appeared to be getting the better of Taira through most of the first round, landing shots that snapped Taira's head back. The Japanese fighter, however, appeared to possibly stun the former title challenger late in the round and scored a takedown before its conclusion.
Taira got back to work in the second round, scoring a takedown early and looking for multiple submission attempts from the back. Royval defended well, but Taira maintained a body triangle and twisted "Raw Dawg" and his limbs on more than one occasion.
Royval, however, got control back by tagging Taira with a number of hard shots, which had referee Jason Herzog looking close to intervening for the TKO stoppage. The #1-ranked contender went to the ground with Taira and looked for an armbar. However, Taira got out of it and got right back to Royval's back, looking for a rear-naked choke in the round's closing seconds.
Taira brought the fight back to the ground and was in control for nearly the whole of the fourth stanza, riding in top position and working Royval over with his grappling. This led to a suspenseful and highly anticipated final round.
Royval was getting the better of Taira on the feet, but the latter brought the fight back to the mat. "Raw Dawg," however, worked his way back to the feet and landed some strong shots. Royval then went for a guillotine and several other submission attempts, staying in control on the ground until the final horn.
Royval Wins Competitive, Entertaining Flyweight Main Event vs. Taira, Ends Taira's Undefeated Record
Royval has now won five of his last six fights, with his sole loss in that span coming from an unsuccessful challenge of flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 last December
Meanwhile, the loss marks the first of Taira's professional career after starting his Octagon tenure at 6-0.