Brandon Royval dug deep in the fifth round to outlast a gritty Tatsuro Taira.
The flyweights battled in the main event of UFC Vegas 98, and delivered a Fight of the Year contender in the process. With the fight seemingly on the line, Royval was able to deliver in the deciding round to pick up his second straight headlining win.
Two of the judges saw it for Royval, while one scored it for Taira, who drops to 16-1 as a pro.
The first round was all Royval, as the fight was mainly contested on the feet. “Raw Dawg” left Taira with damage on his face early and often. In the second round, the tides turned, as Taira landed a takedown and controlled Royval in a dominant position for most of the round.
In Rounds 3 and 4, it was almost a sequel to the first two rounds, with Royval finding success in the odd stanza, while Taira was masterful in the grappling department in the even round.
Round 5 saw Taira land a takedown after taking some big shots from his opponent, but Royval was able to get back up and then thwart the subsequent attempts from Taira to get it to the mat. The one-time title challenger nearly submitted Taira late in the round, but the horn sounded to end an instant classic.
After being announced the split decision (48-47 x2, 47-47( winner, Royval said he would be up for being the backup fighter for the UFC Edmonton main event between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi.
