No. 1 ranked flyweight contender Brandon Royval couldn’t even sit down to eat without having to give a urine sample.
‘Raw Dawg’ recently revealed on his Instagram stories that a representative with DFSI (Drug Free Sport International) interrupted his meal at a local restaurant to complete one of the promotion’s no-notice drug tests.
“LOL they really drug testing me everywhere,” Royval captioned the video.
Brandon Royval was drug tested while he was at a restaurant
IG / @brandonroyval #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/MZYn3lbIAs
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 30, 2024
IG /
After eight years, the UFC ended its partnership with the United States Anti-Doping Agency in favor of an in-house system. Today, DFSI handles sample collection while the actual sample testing goes through SMRTL (Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory), considered by many in the industry to be the top anti-doping testing laboratory in the world.
Brandon Royval’s latest win forces the UFC to think outside the box for its next flyweight title challenger
Coming up short against reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 last year, Brandon Royval bounced back last month, scoring a big split decision victory over former titleholder Brandon Moreno on short notice. The win solidified his spot at the top of the 125-pound rankings.
His win also put the promotion in a bit of a pickle when it came to booking Pantoja’s next title fight.
As a result, Steve Erceg, who is coming off just his third win inside the Octagon, will challenge ‘The Cannibal’ in the UFC 301 headliner on Saturday, May 4 in Rio de Janeiro.
