Brandon Royval doesn’t mince words when it comes to his thoughts on Muhammad Mokaev. Fresh off his split-decision victory over former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City in February, Royval wasted no time in expressing his desire for another crack at UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
However, a couple of hurdles stand in his way. Firstly, Pantoja recently handed Royval a decisive defeat in December, claiming a dominant unanimous decision victory. Secondly, there’s the emergence of Muhammad Mokaev.
This past weekend, Mokaev secured a somewhat lackluster unanimous decision triumph over Alex Perez at UFC Vegas 87, promptly throwing his hat into the ring for a title shot against Pantoja. Predictably, Royval wasn’t impressed by the 23-year-old’s performance.
“Maybe he defeated Alex Perez, maybe not,” Royval remarked on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour. “Perhaps that’s Perez’s only victory over a current UFC fighter. Regardless, I don’t believe it warrants a title shot. I wasn’t particularly impressed. After the first round, it seemed like he had nothing left. It is what it is. I just didn’t find it very impressive.”
“Every time I watch that kid fight, I’m like, ‘This is boring,'” Royval continued. “It is what it is. He started off strong in the first round or whatever, but by the time he fights again, I always forget what he brings to the table. Then I watch, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, this kid’s boring.’ I get amnesia.”
While Mokaev has expressed his desire for a title shot, he also seems interested in resolving the brewing tension between himself and Royval.
Following Royval’s dismissal of his performance, Mokaev fired back at the former title challenger, proposing a showdown in July when the UFC returns to Manchester, England. While Royval remains focused on another shot at the title, he’s open to the idea, especially if it’s a main event.
“I think that matchup works very well. I love it,” Royval stated. “That’s not a fight I would ever turn down. It hasn’t been offered to me yet. That being said, both he and I are aiming for a title shot. If one of us gets it, so be it. But we’ve been building up this fight for about a year now, so when the time comes, if one of us has a belt or not, if it’s a five-round fight, he’s done.”
“I prefer to fight anyone in a 25-minute fight,” Royval emphasized. “I’m very confident against anyone in this division in a 25-minute fight because in 15 minutes, you can neutralize a position. You can secure two rounds and maybe hold me down. I’ve never been the strongest fighter, so I’ve been neutralized before. Most of my losses came that way. In 25 minutes, it’s really tough to do.”
Whether the UFC decides to pursue this matchup remains uncertain, as the flyweight title picture is currently one of the more perplexing ones in the sport. Nevertheless, whether it’s Pantoja or Mokaev, Royval believes he’s done everything in his power to position himself for success, and now it’s a waiting game to see how things unfold.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Royval admitted. “I feel like I’ve done everything I could. I stepped in on short notice against Moreno, the No. 1 contender. If he had won that fight, they would have surely given him the shot no matter what. That being said, I don’t know if the situation changes because of who I am and who Moreno is.”
