Brandon Royval recently discussed Kai Asakura making his octagon debut in a flyweight title fight against Alexandre Pantoja. In addition to expressing optimism about Asakura's entry into the 125-lb division, Rovyal offered his prediction for the contest.
Asakura is set to challenge Pantoja for the flyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 30-year-old will try to create history by winning his very first UFC fight and becoming the first Japanese champion in the promotion.
During the post-fight press conference of UFC Vegas 98, Royval gave his take on Asakura fighting for the title on his promotional debut, saying:
''I've been watching Kai Asakura for a while, I think he's sick. I think there's a lot of cool things, he's yet to make flyweight. So I'll be there and I'll be ready just in case he doesn't. That being said, I’ll give the man his roses, I think he brings a lot of excitement to the division but I think if Pantoja grapples him at all it’s gonna be over”
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Check out Brandon Rovyal's comments below (4:48):
As for Royval, he also took on Pantoja for the flyweight title last year at UFC 296. Unfortunately, 'Raw Dawg' suffered a unanimous decision loss. The 32-year-old then bounced back with a split decision win in a rematch against former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237 earlier this year.
In his most recent octagon outing at UFC Vegas 98, Royval squared off against Tatsuro Taira, who entered the bout undefeated in the promotion. The fight lasted 25 minutes and in the end, the American got his hand raised via split decision. The judges scored the contest (48-47x2, 47-48).