Brandon Royval reveals concerning medical reason behind withdrawal from Manel Kape fight at UFC Vegas 103: "This one was severely worse"

Brandon Royval recently spoke about his failed matchup with Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 103. Royval expressed his respect for Kape and revealed that a severe concussion forced him to withdraw from the bout.

Royval was expected to headline UFC Vegas 103 against Kape in a flyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel, the former title challenger clarified that his withdrawal came down to sustaining a concussion while training.

''Maybe a couple months back, I had a concussion. Nothing too crazy. I was just playing it safe, playing it smart. A couple weeks later, when I was recovered, I accepted this fight, which was awesome. Fight Manel Kape. I respect his skills, I respect him as a striker and all that. I was training hard for this fight, and being a little reckless and being kind of in the zone for camp, I got another concussion. This one was severely worse.''

Royval went on to state that he is still coping with the consequences of his concussion, adding:

“It’s been over a week at this point, and I’m still dealing with the repercussions of it and the symptoms of a bad concussion.'' [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Check out Brandon Royval's comments below (0:40):

Royval was on a three-fight win streak before challenging reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title at UFC 296 in 2023, but came up short, losing via unanimous decision. He has since bounced back with split decision wins over former champion Brandon Moreno and the previously unbeaten Tatsuro Taira.

Following Royval's withdrawal, Kape is now set to face Asu Almabayev.

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Brandon Royval comments on his return

After suffering a severe concussion, Brandon Royval opted to play it safe and withdraw from his high-stakes clash with Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 103. In the same video posted to his YouTube channel, the flyweight contender touched on his decision and disclosed that he'll only return once fully fit.

He said:

''Manel Kape being a good striker, and this being a predominantly striking match that we felt this would be the safest move. Take some time, recover, recover the right way this time, and fight at a later date. Fight when I can fully train, fully take a punch, and give you guys the best of my ability.” [1:22]