In the main event of UFC Vegas 98 last weekend, ‘Raw Dawg’ was able to prove once again why he’s one of the best flyweights in the world as he earned a fabulous win over highly talented prospect, Tatsuro Taira.
Whilst Brandon Royval did get his hand raised in impressive fashion, he certainly didn’t have it all his own way after being locked in a deep body triangle for what must have felt like a lifetime.
Brandon Royval reveals Tatsuro Taira’s body triangle beats out BJJ black belts
Rising flyweight contender Tatsuro Taira secured over 12 minutes of control time against Brandon Royval, with the grappling exchanges dominated by the Japanese star’s incredible body triangle.
Despite having previously faced various BJJ black belts such as Brandon Moreno and champion Alexandre Pantoja, Royval would claim via Michael Bisping’s BYM Podcast that Taira’s was a cut above the rest.
“There’s been a handful of moments in my life where I’m like ‘Oh that feels different to something that I’m used to.’ I’ve had my back taken a million times, but when he locked in that body triangle I was immediately like ‘Oh that is a different type of body triangle’.
“I have never felt a body triangle where I was like ‘That’s really, really tight’,” noted the former title challenger, as he acknowledged how Taira’s grappling was on another level than what he expected.
“I’ve drill body triangle escapes all day every day because I’m a little bit of a lengthier flyweight and the last couple of guys that I’ve had: Moreno, Pantoja and Taira are all back riders.
“I really thought that he’d be the least effective of the [three] back riders but holy s***, that kid on my back was a whole different strength, a whole different feeling and that was really eye-opening.”
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Given that Royval is certainly no slouch on the ground himself, his comments regarding the squeeze put on by Taira are yet more evidence that the Japanese fighter has what it takes to one day become a UFC champion.
“I feel that instinctually, I have really good body triangle escapes, [but] I could not shake that kid off at all, I could not get him off my back… I was rolling [through], I was doing every escape that I could do, I’m [even] going through video tutorials in my head because he’s on my back for so long.
“That was a different feeling [entirely] and every time that I thought I was out of it, he had a way to pull me back in so really big props to him.”
Brandon Royval offers his services to help train Tatsuro Taira to UFC title glory
Royval would later state that he’s going to try to “steal some ideas” regarding how Taira was able to control the position so effectively as despite being eight years his junior, “there’s a lot to learn from him.”
Luckily, the best way to learn is with practical hands-on experience and Royval is hopeful that he can help train Tatsuto Taira as he offered “anything he needs” to see him become UFC champion.
“If he needs a ride, if he needs a f**** place to stay, food or anything like that, he’s more than welcome to stay at my house, he’s more than welcome to borrow a car, he’s more than welcome for me to drop him off,” Royval stated at the post-fight press conference.
“When that kid comes to Colorado, I don’t know how he gets around, but you can still him training in all these rooms and he’s doing anything he can to become world champion – I thought that was really evident tonight.”
As of October 15, Royval remains the #1 ranked flyweight in the world with Tatsuro Taira occupying the #5 spot – champion Pantoja defends his belt at UFC 310 this December against promotional newcomer, Kai Asakura.