Brandon Royval teases bantamweight move ahead of Manel Kape clash: "I could hang with the top fighters"

UFC flyweight Brandon Royval is set to go toe-to-toe against Manel Kape in a five-round clash at UFC Fight Night 253. The bout will headline the card on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.

Ahead of the clash, Royval did an interview with Home of Fight and spoke about the possibility of moving up a weight class. 'Raw Dawg' shared that if Alexandre Pantoja remains the flyweight champion, the chances of him getting a title shot are low.

With that in mind, he would be open to moving to bantamweight to make more money:

"If Pantoja remains a champion, I don't think I'll get another title shot... I don't know if I'll ever be a champion at 135 [pounds], being like realistic. But I know I can handle the top of the fighters and I know that bantamweight fighters get paid more than flyweight fighters. At this point, it's like, if they never give me a title shot, I need to make as much money as possible, you know, before I leave this career. So, I'm just kinda all over the board with it. But if there's a short-notice [fight], I would jump in bantamweight, for sure."

Check out Brandon Royval's comments below:

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Brandon Royval and Alexandre Pantoja have fought twice in the UFC

Brandon Royval and current flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja have shared the UFC octagon on two occasions. Their first encounter took place in August 2021. 'The Cannibal' emerged victorious in that bout with a rear-naked choke in the second round.

The two athletes crossed paths for the second time in December 2023. This time, the flyweight belt was at stake at UFC 296. Once again, Pantoja proved himself to be the better fighter as he scored a comfortable unanimous decision victory.