Both Brandon Royval and Rogerio Bontorin had their moments, but two of the three judges sided with Royval after their fight at UFC Vegas 46.
After Dakota “Hairy” Bush fought earlier in the night, it was time for “Raw Dawg” to hit the octagon at UFC Vegas 46. Clearly, the UFC’s matchmakers have a sense of humor. But the flyweight contest between Brandon Royval (the aforementioned “Raw Dawg”) and Rogerio Bontorin was no joke. Both men were ranked 125lb’ers, looking to make a statement to start the new year.
No touch of the gloves as both men look to get right to the action to start the first round. Rogerio Bontorin looked to be waiting for Brandon Royval early on. After a brief exchange on the feet, Royval connected with a spinning back fist but Bontorin got under Royval and showed his strength with a powerful takedown. Royval the crafty flyweight that he is, found a way back to his feet. Royval connected with some more strikes before Bontorin took the fight back to the mat. Once back at the feet with a quick scramble, the horn sounded for the end of round ne.
With round one being tightly contested, both men came out swinging with Royval being planted back onto the mat. Rogerio briefly was in danger of an arm bar but found his way out, gaining back position of Brandon Royval. Bontorin and Royval traded on the feet and Royval looked to have wobbled with a punch but it was confirmed that he rolled on his ankle. He shook it off and continued to exchange with Bontorin, who ended the round controlling Royval on the mat as we headed to the third.
Round three looked similar to round two with the strength of Rogerio Bontorin being on display with another takedown. Brandon Royval caught Rogerio in an arm bar and it looked like Rogerio Bontorin was almost about to tap. It was debated by the commentators if it was or was not a tap as Royval made his way on top of Rogerio Bontorin. With a close fight, Royval looked to score points with judges ending the third round on top, throwing heavy strikes.
Brandon Royval Def Rogerio Bontorin by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
