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Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval are sitting atop a card that three rematches (a record?). Theirs is the third rematch and final fight on the card. The two first stepped in the octagon in November of 2020, but Royval wouldn’t make it out of the first round. A shoulder injury and ferocious ground-and-pound would end his night prematurely, setting up the rematch three-plus years later. The first contest saw Moreno very dominant before the finish. Has Royval improved enough since then to ensure a victory? Let’s take a look at their stats to see how they match up.
Preview
Brandon Moreno
- Age: 30
- Height: 5’7
- Reach: 70 inches
- Stance: Orthodox
- Record: 21-7-2 (5 KO, 11 SUB, 5 DEC, 1 Split Draw, 1 Majority Draw)
- Amateur record: None
- Last opponent: Alexandre Pantoja (SD loss)
- Current UFC streak: 1 loss
Brandon Royval
- Age: 31
- Height: 5’9
- Reach: 68 inches
- Stance: Southpaw
- Record: 15-7 (4 KO, 9 SUB, 2 DEC)
- Amateur record: 5-0 (began in 2011)
- Last opponent: Alexandre Pantoja (UD loss)
- Current UFC streak: 1 loss
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2 live play-by-play
Round 1
Royval with a failed high kick to start the action. The men have basically danced around each other for the first minute. Moreno throws a low kick right as a body kick from Royval lands. Herb Dean asks them to engage as the second minute rolls by. Royval misses as a left hook from Moreno lands. Royval stumbles and falls and is limping now on his left leg now.
Moreno throwing combos that are landing now. Royval slides in with a right and immediately gets punished for it with a left over the top. Royval reaching with his punches. Moreno targeting the legs with low kicks as Royval comes in to close the distance. Moreno with a knee up the middle. Body kick grazes Moreno but the right straight behind it landed for Royval. Round over.
Round 2
Royval throws the left kick, despite it getting iced during the break. Royval with an inside leg kick. Moreno with a huge right followed by a hard jab. Royval pumping the jab and throwing the left kick. The foot seems to be fine now. Moreno is countering everything Royval attempts to throw. Commentary says Moreno is landing at 60% now.
Royval throwing a straight right and Moreno just waiting to counter. Royval with another hard body kick. Now a knee up the middle in the clinch. Big combo from Moreno keeps Royval at bay. Moreno with a low kick and a sharp left that pops Royval’s head back.
Royval landed a nasty knee up the middle. Moreno takes him down and is working from Royval’s guard. Royval tries a triangle but Moreno escapes. And again, but Moreno is out and they’re back on their feet. Round over.
Round 3
Low kick for Royval stumbles Moreno who recovers his footing quickly. Royval feinting and the two have yet to engage aside from the first kick. They’re back in the middle and Moreno drags him down but Royval is back up super fast. Low blow by Royval forces a pause to the action. Replay shows the strike did land on the cup.
Time in. Royval immediately starts in with the right straight and a body kick. Moreno answers with an overhand right. Royval turned Moreno’s head with a sharp right after a hard leg kick. Royval is working the jab well and Moreno looks to be conserving his energy. Moreno drags Royval down for a split second but he escaped.
Royval is really finding a home with his right. He’s also throwing that low kick a lot. Royval starting to take off here in this round. Moreno with a right straight, low kick and a left up top. Royval answers with a one-two as the round ends.
Round 4
Royval comes out immediately throwing the jab and going to the body then throwing the low kick. Moreno answers with a hard right and a low kick of his own. Royval goes back to the low kick on Moreno’s lead leg. Moreno tries to drag him down again but Royval defended well and ended up on top but Moreno escapes quickly.
Royval’s right leg is now looking compromised from all the leg kicks Moreno has landed (21 so far according to commentary). Royval popping the jab and gets a bomb to the face by Moreno. He immediately launched one right back. Royval has Moreno against the cage off a takedown and is landing his combos.
Back to the center and Moreno is getting teed off on a bit. Royval goes up top and misses as Moreno goes low and pelts his gut with hard shots. Nice right hook to the body by Royval gets answered by a low kick from Moreno. Moreno lands a left and Royval lands a right as the horn sounds.
Round 5
Royval comes out hot and lands three quick jabs. Moreno whiffs on a huge overhand right. Moreno with a body lock but he can’t drag Royval down this time. They’re up against the cage and Moreno has both underhooks in. Herb Dean tells them to work. Herb forces them apart and starts them in the center.
Moreno comes in with a hard right while Royval continues to pop the jab continuously. Royval is definitely the fresher fighter here in round five. Royval just popped Moreno with a knee up the middle. Royval is just throwing constantly. Moreno finally came to life and sat down on two huge shots that land. Moreno with the body lock.
Herb Dean is already warning them to work. Moreno starts foot stomps and Herb breaks them up. Moreno lands a big combination. They are throwing down in the center. Moreno lands a big elbow as Royval gets a knee up the middle. They’re back against the cage with Moreno on his back. Big left from Moreno on the break. They are swinging for the fences as the fight ends. I have no clue who won.
Official Decision
Brandon Royval def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 49-46, 47-48)
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 Quick Results
Main card
- – Brandon Royval def. Brandon Moreno via split decision (48-47, 49-46, 47-48): Flyweight
- – Brian Ortega def. Yair Rodriguez via submission (arm triangle) at :58 of round 3: Featherweight
- – Daniel Zellhuber def. Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Lightweight
- – Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios: Bantamweight (cancelled due to Rosas Jr. illness)
- – Yazmin Jauregui def. Sam Hughes by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Strawweight
- – Manuel Torres def. Chris Duncan by submission (RNC) at 1:46 of round 1: Lightweight
Prelims
- – Raoni Barcelos def. Cristian Quiñonez by submission (RNC) at 2:04 of round 3: Bantamweight
- – Jesus Aguilar def. Mateus Mendonça by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Flyweight
- – Edgar Cháirez def. Daniel Lacerda by submission (Triangle) at of round 1: Flyweight
- – Fares Ziam def. Claudio Puelles by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29): Lightweight
- – Ronaldo Rodríguez def. Denys Bondar by submission (RNC) at 4:59 of round 2: Flyweight
- – Felipe dos Santos def. Victor Altamirano by split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30): Flyweight
- – Muhammad Naimov def. Erik Silva by TKO at :44 of round 1: Featherweight
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 streaming & ticket info
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 takes place on February 24th, at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET. The preliminary card begins at 7:00 p.m. ET. If you just so happen to be out in Mexico and want to witness UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 live, you can purchase tickets by clicking here. UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 can be live streamed on ESPN+ in the United States and Canada. For full streaming details, and compatible devices go here.