UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval returns to action on Saturday night at the Apex, but he nearly had a much different assignment a couple of months ago.
Royval last competed in Mexico City this past February, where he exacted revenge on Brandon Moreno in their headlining rematch. With that result, “Raw Dawg” is ranked #1 at 125 pounds.
He’ll now have the chance to potentially secure another shot at Alexandre Pantoja’s title this weekend, when he tops a UFC Fight Night lineup at the Apex opposite the #5-ranked Tatsuro Taira.
Had the UFC’s plans come to fruition, however, Royval would have been set to compete in other surroundings against a fighter without a number next to their name — or a UFC fight on their record…
Royval On Rejecting Asakura Fight: ‘Not Getting A Guaranteed Title Shot, Not Getting More Money…’
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Royval looked ahead to his upcoming headliner with Taira and revealed that he was almost set for a much different test far from home.
“Raw Dawg” said he was offered the chance to welcome Kai Asakura to the promotion at the UFC 305 pay-per-view in Perth, Australia this past August.
But after his requests for additional payment for the long-distance trip and guarantees of a title shot should he win were rejected, Royval opted against heading Down Under to face the former Rizin champion.
“They offered me that fight (Asakura) in Australia,” Royval said. “I asked them for more money, I asked for a handful of stuff, and they said no. And then I asked them for one of any of those things, and they said no. And I was like, all right, well, then I’m not gonna go f*cking fight some dude, not in the UFC, for not much money, all the way across the (world) where I’m not getting any sleep. I’m not getting any of this, I’m not getting a guaranteed title shot, I’m not getting any more money.
“I got to bring my whole team out there if I’m going to go out there because I need to get my Arcadian rhythm in cycle. So it’s like, I got to fly out my whole team and guys that look like Kai Asakura. So it was one of those (things where) financially, (it) doesn’t make sense to me,” Royval continued. “And then it’s also, like, the risk doesn’t (exceed) the reward. If I go out there and lose, I just lost (to) somebody without a ranking, and if I go out there and win, they’re not guaranteeing me a title shot or anything. So there was really no reward in that.”
Things have seemingly worked out well for Royval, who is now days away from facing a fellow top-five contender in what will mark his second consecutive UFC main event.
