In the UFC 296 co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja looked to make the first defense of his flyweight championship and had to do so against familiar foe Brandon Royval. After five rounds of intense action, Pantoja took a unanimous decision on the strength of takedowns and positional dominance on the ground.
Royval was clearly improved from his August 2021 submission loss to Pantoja but ultimately could not do enough to stop Pantoja’s takedowns and was ineffective at escaping from bottom positions once Pantoja was able to put the fight on the floor.
Pantoja came out to start the fight like a new champion looking to firmly establish his place atop the division. Royval survived the first-round blitz, even when he was taken down and mounted.
Royval was able to do some solid work on the feet using his length to work behind his jab, but Pantoja’s takedowns and top control continued to nullify Royval’s attempts to work on the feet. In addition, Royval looked bothered when Pantoja was able to land strikes in the stand-up.
Can’t get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis of UFC 296 at the conclusion of the PPV below.
In Round 3, Pantoja seemed near to locking in an arm-triangle choke, but Royval rolled through and then scrambled to his feet after Pantoja attempted to take the back. After failing to finish the submission, Pantoja appeared to have depleted much of his gas tank, though he again was able to score a takedown, take mount and spend much of the following round on Royval’s back with a body triangle locked in.
Royval continued to escape bad positions, ending Round 4 on top and delivering some ground and pound but was forced to go back to his corner before the final round to be implored by his team to make something happen in Round 5 to become world champion.
Royval took his corner’s demands to heart, coming out for the final round with a constant flurry of strikes as an exhausted Pantoja looked to find a way to survive to what seemed to be an easy win on the scorecards. Pantoja managed to weather the storm and scored yet another takedown midway through the round, pinning Royval to the canvas and grinding away the final moments of the fight.
After five rounds of championship action, the official scorecards read 50-45, 50-45, 49-46, all for Pantoja.
“This fight was maybe too boring,” Pantoja said after the fight. “I don’t like to do that fight but Brandon Royval is a very tough fighter. I needed to keep this belt for my family.”
Elsewhere on the card, Shavkat Rakhmonov staked his claim to a title shot with a submission win over Stephen Thompson. Rakhmonov continues to maintain a perfect finishing rate in 18 pro fights. Plus, Paddy Pimblett poured it on Tony Ferguson early and never backed off as he bounced back from injury to get the win while Ferguson dropped his seventh consecutive fight. And Josh Emmett delivered one of the most devastating knockouts in recent memory against Bryce Mitchell to open the PPV.
