Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Rising flyweight prospect Brandon Royval shined in his Octagon debut earlier tonight (Sat., May 30, 2020) live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he put a stop to former UFC title challenger Tim Elliott via second-round submission (arm-triangle choke).
It was not easy for Royval in his Octagon debut taking on a seasoned veteran like Elliott, but the 27-year-old looked good in moments. Elliott was able to control the pace with countless takedowns in the early going, but eventually tired entering the second. That’s when Royval was able to regain momentum and end up in full mount. From there, “Raw Dawg” worked his way into position to sink in an arm-triangle choke and make Elliott tap for the third time in his last five fights.
Check out the finish above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
With this performance, Royval not only lives up to his hype as a top-flight finisher but he makes good on a big-time Octagon debut. It’s just a shame fight fans didn’t get to see more striking from the young prospect. There is certainly work to be done for “Raw Dawg” but this is a great step in the right direction.
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