Brandon Royval to serve as back-up fighter for Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja title fight at UFC 290

Brandon Royval will serve as back-up fighter for Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja title fight at UFC 290.

UFC 290 takes place on Saturday July 8th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Headlining the event will be a flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno (21-6 MMA) and Alexandre Pantoja (25-5 MMA). Moreno, 29, enters the Octagon with 2 wins in his last 2 fights. Pantoja, 33, is sporting 3 consecutive victories coming into UFC 290.

Speaking with reporters after his KO victory over Matheus Nicolau (19-4 MMA) last Saturday, April 15th, Brandon Royval (15-6 MMA) confirmed his upcoming back-up role at UFC 290:

“Yeah, I’m going to be the backup for July. I think that’s already been discussed. Dana White said it himself. He said this is a title eliminator.”

Continuing Royval spoke about his most recent victory over Nicolau (h/t MMAJunkie):

“They want statements to be made. I told Mick Maynard, I said, ‘Sign Matheus Nicolau, and I’ll put him away. I’ll make it an exciting fight. There’s no way this is going to be a boring fight. I promise you, and I’ll put him away.’ That’s exactly what I did. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it, but that’s what I was saying.”

As for who he’d like to see win at UFC 290, ‘Raw Dawg’ continued:

“It would be cool to see Pantoja win again and get that 3-0 against Moreno, so I can match up with him next and beat his ass. Nothing against the guy, he’s a really amazing person, but I have a bone to pick with him. I need to get my get back. That’s the game plan, and that’s what I’m going to do, get my lick back against Pantoja.”

So there you have it, Brandon Royval has a plan to meet Alexandre Pantoja and defeat him in the cage next.

Were you watching Royval defeat Nicolau this past Saturday? Would you like to see Royval vs. Pantoja in the near future?

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